Clean Hatred
by Angels of Luna and Sol
Summary: This is an AU Action Romance Angst. Dante and Vergil run into two girls in a battle and save their lives. They soon learn that the girls perhaps aren't as innocent as they appeared to be, and offer their assistance in locating a person.
1. Prologue

Clean Hatred

By: Luna Angel

Disclaimer: We don't own Devil May Cry. Sadly, we don't even own copies of the games, so, you know, pity us don't sue us. We own neither Dante, nor Vergil, nor do we claim to. We _do_ own Adara, Liara, and any other characters we create.

Author's Note from Luna Angel: Okay, I realize this is incredibly short, but it _is_ just the prologue. All the other chapters are longer, so don't worry about that. Because of the brevity of this first chapter, I also wrote Chapter One. After that, Sol and I basically trade off every chapter. Updates will be once a week after these first two chapters. And now, I think I've taken up enough of your time, so, on with the fic!

* * *

Prologue 

Another agonized scream rang through the twilight, sounding more like the shriek of a dying animal than anything resembling sentient. Its resonant echoes sent a shiver of fear coursing a familiar route down the spines of the two huddled forms. The pair of children flinched at the sound and clutched one another tighter, pressing themselves into the dark nook they had seized as shelter.

One of the forms let out a whimper as the scream rent the air again, and was quickly shushed by the other. "Hush," she hissed lowly in her sister's ear. "Mother told us to be silent."

The whimpering disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared, but neither girl stopped shaking.

Finally, after what seemed like hours of waiting, the screams cut off, leaving an eerie silence that was almost worse than the noise. The silence stretched, with the girls unwilling to move for fear they would be caught.

Heavy footsteps echoed above their heads and they stiffened, their fingers flexing involuntarily as their muscles tightened under the tension. The footsteps grew mildly fainter, but soon increased in volume, accompanied by the creaking of the wooden stairs leading down to the basement. As the steps approached their hiding space without pausing, one of the girls let out a low whine, jerking upright and pushing herself away from her sister suddenly. She shook violently, shudders racking her body even as her eyes slammed shut and her hands curled into fists.

A weary voice cut through the tense atmosphere with the ease of a hot knife through soft butter, leaving the girls sagging with relief. "Come, children, we need to leave quickly." Their mother's voice was familiar and safe, even edged as it was with sorrow, and they hastened to obey the command, scrambling out of the fireplace and brushing soot off their dresses as they followed her rapid steps out of the dusky room and through their childhood home, not even questioning when she led them out onto the dark street.

They took the hands she offered, following her even as she took them down dark alleyways and further away from the only place they knew.


	2. Chapter One

Clean Hatred

By: Luna Angel

Disclaimer: Still don't own. Please don't sue.

A/N from Luna: And here we have Chapter One, one of our shorter chapters. I believe I said everything I needed to say last chapter, so enjoy, and I'll see you in Chapter Three.

* * *

Chapter One 

The sturdy door swung open with a disgruntled groan as Dante strode in, exhaustion sitting heavily on his form. He was followed closely by Vergil, who shouldered his exhaustion less obviously than his brother, but still collapsed bonelessly on the sofa across the room. Dante slung his weapons onto his desk and threw himself into his chair, propping his feet on the desktop before grabbing a beer and twisting off the cap.

"That was a damn waste of an afternoon," he grumbled, lifting the bottle to his lips and taking a healthy swig.

Vergil didn't respond to Dante's comment, merely removing his weapons and placing them carefully beside him. He picked up a pending case file and began paging through it, evaluating the job to decide whether to take it.

The pair sat in silence until Dante finished his beer and pushed himself to his feet with a faint grunt. He sat down behind his drums and began playing abstract rhythms, quietly at first, but gaining energy and volume as the seconds passed.

A muscle along Vergil's jaw began to twitch as Dante played, and about a minute into it, he snapped. "Would you stop that incessant droning?" he growled violently.

Dante stopped, glaring at Vergil, and opened his mouth to respond. He closed it just as quickly when an angry yell drifted to them. He and Vergil exchanged glances, and stood, grabbing their weapons and running out onto the street.

The scene that met their eyes stopped them dead in their tracks. The swarm of demons that had appeared at the end of the street was of a truly impressive size, all converging on one location.

Suddenly, two of the demons flew toward them, thrown out of the group. This seemed to be some signal, for the group scattered slightly, the once-tight circle widening, allowing Dante and Vergil a glimpse of two figures in the center of the mess fighting ferociously. Their wings overlapped as they stood back-to-back, making certain nothing could sneak up on them.

A heavy blow from one of the demons sent one of the angels flying, impacting with a sickening slap on the broken concrete. The sound shook the brothers out of their stupors, sending them running toward the group, weapons drawn.

The second angel rushed to the side of the downed warrior, sliding an arm around her waist and hoisting her off the ground. Seeing the demons distracted, she began running, an odd, lilting gait, pulling her comrade along at her side.

Seeing their quarry disappearing and a new, tougher battle coming, the gathered demons rapidly dissipated, fleeing the scene. The few who chose to chase after their prey were rapidly picked off by Dante's guns, and soon the street was quiet again.

* * *

The door slammed into the wall, deepening the already-existing dent, before ricocheting back towards the two women limping through the doorway. 

Liara pushed the door shut behind them with her foot, supporting her sister across the room and carefully lowering her onto the pile of blankets that covered Adara's bed. She quickly stacked the two, thin pillows and placed them under Adara's head before kneeling beside her.

"Dar," she whispered, stroking her sweat-soaked forehead gently, pushing the matted hair off her face.

Adara's eyes opened slowly, blinking languidly as she strained to focus on her sister's face. "I'm okay Lia," she murmured quietly. "Things are just a little fuzzy. Let me lay here for a minute, then I'll be all right." Her eyes started to close, but she forced them open again. "What time is it?"

"It's early still. Don't worry; we don't have to be at work for a few hours yet."

Adara nodded, letting her eyes drift shut. Her breathing slowed slightly and evened as she slipped into unconsciousness.

Liara pushed herself to her feet, wandering to the small area that served as their kitchen, containing little more than a tap, two sets of battered service and a few dry goods. Liara quickly filled a cup with water from the tap and moved to attend to the small amount of dough they had left to rise. She quickly kneaded and formed it with the practiced ease of one accustomed to the task, then set it into their small oven to bake. That chore completed, she went about the daily business of straightening their small, battered apartment, and preparing herself for the night's work. She sighed at the thought of the lost income that evening, as she would be the only one dancing. Adara would likely end up behind the bar serving drinks, and the tips weren't nearly as good doing that. But the bruises she had earned when she impacted with the ground necessitated staying off the stage. A bit of makeup and the darker lights of the floor and bar would hide them, but the bright lights that illuminated the dancers would let them show fully, and a battered woman didn't attract business.

Adara stirred nearly two hours later, as Liara was beginning the nightly ritual of beautification demanded of the dancers at 'Midnight Fantasy', sitting up sluggishly with one hand held to her head. "Ungh," she groaned lowly as she pushed herself to her feet and moved to get a cup of water. "I hate headaches."

"I'm not really surprised you have one," Liara said gently, smiling at her. "You got hit pretty hard."

"Believe me, I know that. And I'm going to be working the bar tonight, won't I?" she said with a wry smile.

"Yep. You've got a pretty impressive set of bruises. Luckily you heal fast. By the day after tomorrow, you should be okay to go on stage again."

"I'm sorry, Lia," Adara said sadly. "I know it isn't good when we lose the money from dancing. I should have been paying better attention."

"Hey, remember, I'm the one who got hurt last time. And I was hurt way worse than you are. Don't stress, we'll be fine. Besides," she said with a devilish grin, "I make better money than you on the stage anyway."

Adara glared at her playfully. "You do not. I'm willing to bet I make more money on the floor than you do on the stage."

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

"Why, think you're gonna lose?"

"Oh, you are so on," Liara said enthusiastically, slathering lotion on her legs.

Adara grinned at her, before gathering her things for work.

Liara grabbed her own bag and slung it over her shoulder after rolling the legs of her sweats back down, slipping her feet into her shoes and following her sister out the door.

The twins entered the back room of the club from the alley behind it, opening their lockers and exchanging greetings with the other dancers sitting at their prep stations. A few of the dancers exclaimed over Adara's bruises, but once she had her concealer on and was fully dressed, she stepped into the less lit area of the dressing room. "Hey Lia, can you see them?" she asked, looking at her younger sister anxiously.

"Nope, not a bit," Liara responded before returning to fixing her own makeup.

"Good. See you out there." Liara nodded in acknowledgement and Adara made her way toward the front of the club, pausing to talk to the stage manager before making her way to the bar.

The sun was coming up before the sisters got to talk again, and they were too exhausted from their night to say much then. The streets were quiet as they made their way home, barely managing to get the door locked and their clothes off before they collapsed into their beds, asleep.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter 2 is by Sol Angel

Disclaimer: Luna and I dont own Capcom, Devil May Cry, Dante or Vergil. Though I wish I owned Dante if you catch my drift

AN from Sol Angel: Short chapter this time. Sorry. Its cute though and has lots more Dante in it. I hope you like it and Luna will bring you chapter 3 next week all!

* * *

Chapter 2 

Dante let out a disgruntled grunt before throwing back the last remnants of his beer. He tossed the bottle carelessly onto the ever-growing pile beside him and cracked open another, taking a long pull. After the battle with the massive horde of demons nearly a week earlier, there had been virtually no demon activity, seemingly anywhere. And they had seen neither hide nor hair of the two angels they had rescued either.

Dante quickly finished his third beer of the evening, but instead of opening another, he pushed himself to his feet, moving toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Vergil asked, not looking up from his book.

"Out," Dante responded shortly, pausing only momentarily on his way to the door.

Vergil let out a long-suffering sigh and closed his book. "Don't tell me you're going to another disgusting strip club to get drunk and gape at half-naked women." It wasn't a question, and Dante clearly didn't have to respond, if the knowing tone in his brother's disapproving voice was any indication.

"If you already knew, why did you ask?" Dante quipped, turning and looking at Vergil with a smirk.

Vergil gave a slightly disgruntled sigh at his brother's behavior and shook his head sadly. "You are a hopeless pervert," he mumbled, but made no move to stop him.

Dante nodded shortly and spun. "I'll be back later," he called over his shoulder as he left.

Vergil shook his head again, and picked up his book, resuming his reading in silence.

Dante opened the doors to the club 'Midnight Fantasy' and walked in casually, relaxing almost instantly as the atmosphere washed over him, soothing away his frustration. The glow of the low, red lighting tinted his vision, confusing him momentarily before he managed to regain his equilibrium.

He paused at the bar on his left to order a beer before striding through the room, weaving his way to the bottom of the three tiers of tables and sitting down near the long, black stage. Two of the three silver poles that stretched from stage to ceiling were occupied with scantily clad dancers, gyrating and folding their limbs impossibly in their dances.

He leaned back, propping his feet up on one of the extra chairs at his table and observed them as they twisted their bodies, moving to the pounding music. He barely registered the waitress as she set a beer in front of him, sweeping his eyes perfunctorily up her long, bare legs, over her enticingly short skirt, before returning his attention to the performers.

For thirty minutes Dante watched the poorly-dressed dancers, his mind drifting in and out of perverted thoughts. His attention was drawn back to reality when the music changed and the DJ's voice came on, "Now a crowd favorite here at Midnight Fantasy! Sapphire!" he introduced the new dancer. The music turned back up after he finished speaking and a moderately tall woman walked out from behind the curtain to the beat of the music.

Dante's attention was suddenly drawn to 'Sapphire' and her beautiful body. He stared at the thin and toned curves of her milky white skin. He once again drifted back to his tainted thoughts as he studied her body.

His act of examining the girl went on for a good solid four minutes when his eyes drifted up to her face. For a moment he didn't even think of it but then he got a flash of familiarity when his mind came out of his trance of perverted thoughts.

He recognized the young stripper as one of the fleeing angels from the battle days earlier. This was certainly the last place he had thought to find them. For the first time, Dante stood and left the club before the dance was done.

Once outside he looked around for any signs of people walking the street. When he found none he walked around to the alley on the side of the building and looked up. No way in up there, he thought to himself. He continued around to the back and saw a rusty green door.

Dante walked up to it and attempted to open it but couldn't. It had been locked. He looked around again for any signs of people wandering the back alley behind the strip club. Satisfied no one was around he gave a strong, non-violent push to the door, breaking the lock. He twisted the handle easily and walked in.

Liara walked to her vanity mirror in the back and sat down exhausted. She looked at all the money she gathered from all her sets and sighed. She had a strong feeling that Adara would win again.

The black-haired girl immediately began changing into her street clothes. She slipped on her loose grey sweat pants and pulled on her white wife-beater tank top then sat back down and counted her money she had made that night.

Liara sighed heavily "Only $350. God this was a bad night…" she mumbled as she put her cash in her bag. The only explanation for the night's bad money was the noticeable lack of demon attacks in the neighborhood. For some reason, whenever there were more demons prowling the streets, business was better. People looking for a way to blow off frustration, she supposed. There were good things about no demon activity, but the lack of customers was not one of them.

She picked her bag up and slung it over her shoulder and started around the corner to let her sister know she was going on break. The appearance of a male figure leaning against the wall stopped her in her tracks.

"Hey! You can't be back here!" she warned.

Dante looked at the girl and smirked. "You could at least thank your rescuer. If it wasn't for me those demons would have murdered you. For what I did, I think I deserve a little something in return, don't you?" he said, raising an eyebrow at her suggestively.

Liara stared in shock at the audacity of this man, her jaw hanging slack, mouth slightly open.

She was drawn out of her stupor by Adara's voice, and she turned to face her sister, who was walking out of the changing room in her costume for the evening, her attention fully consumed by the purse she was digging around in. "Hey, Lia, have you seen my-" she broke off when she looked up and saw Dante. She let out a soft, surprised squeak, jumping slightly, then tried to pull down the hem of her mid-thigh length, pleated, red plaid schoolgirl skirt with one hand while pulling the neckline of her white, oxford blouse together with the other. "Wh-who's that?" she asked, her eyes wide as she stared at Liara.

"I don't know," Liara responded, returning her attention to the platinum-blonde man blatantly staring at Adara's chest.

Adara bristled when she noticed the direction of Dante's gaze, her features pinching into an angry frown. She crossed her arms across her chest, tapping one of her high-heeled, patent-leather Mary Jane's in irritation as she glared at him. "Excuse me," she stated in clipped tones. "My eyes are about twelve inches north. I would appreciate it if you could keep your own there."

Dante snorted, raising his skeptical gaze to meet her angry one. "It's not like you have anything to be ashamed about. Though if you want, I'd love to see more of you." The comment was accompanied by a rakish wink in her direction.

Adara gasped and recoiled in disgust, before taking rapid, angry steps toward Dante, her hand rising to slap him.

The blow, however, came from an unexpected angle, as Liara's hand struck him cleanly across the cheek, snapping his head to the side. She stepped closer to him, getting her face mere inches from his as she hissed her warning. "If you _ever_ say something like that about my sister again, make no mistake, I will kill you. And I will enjoy making you feel every second of it." Her voice lowered in pitch as she growled, "Do I make myself clear?"

Dante wasn't given a chance to respond, as two of the large, well-muscled bodyguard/bouncers of the club surrounded him on both sides.

"Is everything all right here ladies?" the taller of the two asked, glancing at Liara and Adara concernedly.

Adara drew herself up regally, tilting her chin arrogantly. "This gentleman was just leaving," she drawled, fixing a dangerous gaze on Dante. "Weren't you, sir?"

The bouncers nodded in acknowledgement, each taking one of Dante's elbows. "If you'll just come with us, sir," they stated, pulling him along between them, heading for the door.

* * *

Sol Angel's Post-chapter Note: Don't get frustrated at the slow pace of this fic please. We kinda planned it this way so everyone has a chance to get to know the original chars. Trust me, lots of action and excitement to come! 


	4. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: Sol and I still don't own DMC or any of its related or affiliate companies or characters. We just like to pull them out and play with them.

A/N from Luna: Okay, again, a chapter written by me. It's a bit longer than the previous, I think, but not much. The really long ones are coming later. Also, seeing as I've never really had a burning desire to go and watch people strip, please keep in mind I'm creating this whole environment, so any discrepancies with real life let's just call artistic license and leave it at that, okay? The whole dancing scene is completely fabricated by me, with no real intention to completely mirror life, as, frankly, I've never had the particular need to research it, and, well, it works for the story. Anyway, this extraordinarily long author's note is finished, read on, and enjoy. Please review? Only if you want to, though.

* * *

Chapter Three 

Dante burst through the door of Devil May Cry, speaking excitedly before he was even fully inside. "Vergil! You'll never guess who I found!"

Vergil looked up from his book, his expression bored. "Who?" he asked carelessly.

"Those two girls from yesterday! The angels! Come on, I'll show you!" Without waiting for a response, he grabbed Vergil's arm and dragged him out the door, running down the street in the direction he came.

Vergil followed reluctantly, in no hurry to go anywhere that could have gotten Dante so excited, but unwilling to allow himself to be thrown to the pavement either. He groaned inaudibly when he saw where they were headed, the flashing neon lights of the marquee assaulting his vision most unpleasantly, but still allowed Dante to drag him into the strip club.

When they entered 'Midnight Fantasy', the stage was empty during that awkward time between acts. As they were taking their seats, the house lights dimmed again and the DJ's voice came over the speaker system, announcing the next performance. "I just want to take a moment to thank all of the men who have been so very patient this evening. And now, for your pleasure, I present, the woman you've all been waiting for, our very own _Lady Emerald_!"

A rousing cheer erupted from the men scattered around the room, but it quieted as soon as the first, wavering note from a viola spilled into the air.

The darkness of the room remained as a throbbing, seductive beat started under the strains of the viola, the music flowing out of the speakers, threading its way through the room and effortlessly holding the crowd of men in thrall. The stage lights slowly brightened, revealing a motionless figure in a semi-relaxed position against the middle pole, one hand wound around the pole above her head, the other barely brushing her white-stocking encased thigh. Her temple rested gently against the silver pole, her eyes closed. A startling crash echoed from the speakers, the deep, resounding tones of a bass drum seeming to break a spell, as her eyes opened and she threw herself into motion, beginning a writhing, seductive dance.

Dante found himself drawn into the spell she was weaving with her movements, his eyes following her every move. When she jumped and wrapped her hands high up on the front pole, effortlessly hoisting her body into the air, he drew in a sharp breath. She wrapped her legs around the pole, locking her body to it, before releasing her hands and allowing her entire torso to fall slowly back, her spine arching. Her dark mahogany hair pooled on the stage at the apex of her movement, her neck fully exposed, the pulse clearly visible pounding beneath the skin. Agonizingly slowly, she raised her hands to her chest and, even more slowly, began releasing the buttons holding the shirt to her, revealing a white, lacy bra beneath.

The shirt slipped off her shoulders and down her arms, fluttering to land softly on the stage beneath her, and she seductively ran her hands along the edges of her lace-covered breasts, down her stomach, and across the plaid skirt covering her hips, before running them back up her body to tangle in her messy curls.

She arched her body, grinding her hips into the pole between her legs, her mouth opening in a silent gasp, eyes long-since fluttered shut.

Dante managed to tear his gaze from the lithe body on display in front of him, glancing at his brother. To say he was shocked at the expression that met his eyes would be a severe understatement. Never, not even when they ordered the pizza that would serve as their first meal in two days after being on a case, had he seen an expression of such hunger as currently consumed Vergil's eyes. The blatant desire flooding his older brother's face was all the more surprising for having been triggered by a stripper, considering Vergil's distaste for the profession.

A smirk slipped onto Dante's face, but his attention was pulled from his brother back to the stage when Lady Emerald began to arch upward slowly, bringing herself back flush to the pole. She wrapped her hands around it, twining her arms in a lover's embrace, before letting all but one hand unwind, propelling herself in a circle around the pole as she lowered herself back to the stage, all her weight supported, seemingly by that one hand. A knowing smile curved her lips, as she continued her dance, adding to the mystique her performance had already produced, making her all the more desirable.

As her hands moved to release the fastening of her skirt, she worked her way to the floor, batting her smoky lashes languidly at a group of tables occupied by nearly fifteen men. Her mouth opened slightly again, her tongue curling up to touch her teeth as she contorted her face into an expression of relentless desire and immense pleasure. This garnered the cheers she had been aiming for, and more money joined that already on the stage, as she stood, the skirt sliding down off her hips to pool on the stage, revealing a garter and panty set that perfectly matched her bra.

Her dance ended all too soon, to the rousing disappointment of most of the men in the room, and the stage lights dimmed, leaving her in the same provocative pose she was in when the lights came up, only this time with fewer clothes. As soon as the stage was dark, the back row of house lights came up, leaving the stage area black so she could collect her clothing and money and leave, before the forward house lights came on. When the stage was again light enough to see, it was empty.

* * *

Adara felt a wide smile creeping onto her face as she walked off the stage and into the back room, stacking the bills she had gathered from the stage carefully, making all edges even. She sighed and sat down, quickly removing her shoes, massaging her feet gingerly. She cringed in anticipation of the blisters she could feel already forming, but put her feet back onto the floor, releasing the clasps of her garter so she could slide the silk stockings off her legs.

She quickly changed into her street clothes, a loose pair of sweats and a wife-beater, almost identical to her sister's. She sighed in satisfaction as she sat back propping her feet up on the edge of her vanity. Getting into a reclining position, she began counting the cash she had made that evening.

A familiar voice drew her attention and she groaned as her eyes fell on Dante, speaking to the bouncer guarding the back door. She shook her head, but resolved to take care of this problem once and for all. "Let him in Leon," she called.

"Are you sure, Dar?" the redhead called back. "What about the other one?"

"What other one?"

"My brother," Dante responded.

"Yeah, let them both in, Leo. I might as well take care of it now."

The bulky man nodded and stepped back. "All right, you can come in. But you better be respectful of that lady, or you'll answer to me."

A fond smile curved Adara's lips when she overheard Leon's words. Despite his frightening appearance, Leon was a teddy-bear, and one of the few people she truly trusted. The smile faded when the two silver-haired men moved into the room and made their way toward her. "Sit down," she invited perfunctorily, indicating the empty chairs lined up along the row of mirrors. When they were seated, both facing her, she cocked her head at them curiously. "Well, you're in, what did you want with me and my sister?"

Before they could start, Liara came in, raising her eyebrow curiously when she saw the two men sitting with her sister. "Dar?" she asked, pausing in the doorway from the main room of the club.

Adara gifted Liara with a rare, genuine smile, and gestured for her to come closer. "Come on, sit down. These two were just about to explain why they were here."

Liara shrugged slightly, but pulled up a chair beside Adara's anyway. "So, who are you?" she asked, not one to dance around a subject.

Dante opened his mouth to respond, but they were interrupted again, this time by the manager coming into the room with an envelope.

"Emerald!" he called excitedly.

"I've told you a thousand times, if I'm not dancing, call me Adara," she stated, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "What is it Marc?"

"I have something for you."

"Yeah?" she asked, her voice turning curious, all irritation leaving it. "What is it?"

"Your tip for the night from Mister Franks. He said he particularly enjoyed your performance tonight."

Adara grinned. "I had hoped he would be here!" she exclaimed, jumping up and running over to Marc. "He said he might be coming by tonight, I picked the dance especially with him in mind. He always does love it when I dress in white." She snatched the envelope out of his hand, opening it and quickly counting the considerable stack of bills inside. She let out a low whistle, her eyebrows going up.

Liara got up and moved to look over Adara's shoulder at the contents. She let out an identical whistle. "Damn…" she murmured lowly, looking at Adara in surprise. "He must have really liked your dance. How the hell do you manage it, Dar?"

Adara merely smiled. "I'm not sure. I guess he just likes me."

"I'd say so," Liara responded, shaking her head in disbelief. "I just can't believe you managed to get a guy with money who likes to watch you dance. What I wouldn't give for that. What does that bring your total to tonight?"

"With the four twenty-five I got on the stage, almost two thousand."

"Damn…" Liara muttered again. "I'm jealous."

Adara rolled her eyes. "Don't be. It's just a job, besides, we pool everything anyway."

The manager left and Liara and Adara moved back to their seats, ready to resume the discussion.

This time, the interruption came in the form of another group of dancers entering the room and preparing for their own sets.

Adara groaned in frustration. "Look," she said to Dante and Vergil, "it doesn't look like we're going to be able to get any talking done here. Do you two have somewhere quiet we can go where we won't be interrupted?"

"Of course," Vergil stated quickly, preempting whatever Dante was going to say. "We can go to our office."

"Good. Just give us a minute to clean up, and we can go."

Adara and Liara quickly replaced their chairs and tossed make-up into their purses. Adara hung up her night's costume, replacing it in her locker before returning to shove her feet in her comfortable sneakers. The two turned off the lights above their vanities and gathered the last of their things, following the two men out the back door, Adara hugging Leon briefly on the way.

"See you tomorrow night, Leo."

"'Night, Dar," he responded, shutting the door behind them as the four made their way out to the darkened street.


	5. Chapter Four

A/N: This is Sol angel. Sorry for the short chapter. I am not well known to write long ones. But I try. Oh well. I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: We dont own Devil May Cry. We do want to own Dante and Vergil as our own slaves. But we dont. Unfortunately --...

* * *

Chapter 4

Dante opened the door to 'Devil May Cry' and walked in first, followed by Liara and Adara, then Vergil.

"Welcome to our home," he stated.

The girls looked around the place. The wooden floors were dingy and warped, filled with stains, in the back of the room was a lone, battered oak desk with a Telephone, keys and some papers strewn across it, a solitary framed photograph perched in a position of honor in one corner. On the wall near it sat an old-fashioned, roll-top desk, currently closed, with a straight-backed, wooden chair in front of it. To their left, a battered pool table with a red velvet top. To their right a red ratty sofa with a well-used drum set next to it.

"Wow makes our place look like shit," Liara commented.

Adara shot her sister a glare filled with hurt. She liked the apartment they tried so hard for. She then turned her attention to the two boys. "Mind telling us what you want from us and who you are?" she asked.

Dante walked over to the desk and sat behind it while Vergil sat on his normal spot on the couch.

"Make yourselves at home," Dante offered.

Adara held out a hand, stopping her sister from moving into the room any further. "We won't be staying long. Now, our question?" she demanded.

"We are curious as to what two angels like you doing in this part of town," Vergil replied. "And I am Vergil. That over there is my brother Dante. And you're Adara. Who is the girl beside you?" he added on.

"I am her twin, Liara," she responded.

"You two don't look like twins," Dante pointed out.

Adara rolled her eyes. "She is my fraternal twin…" she explained. "Look is there a point to this or can we go home."

"Like Vergil asked, we just want to know what two angels are doing in a demon-infested area," Dante stated picking up a warm, half full bottle of beer. He took a long drink then threw the empty glass bottle behind him.

"We live near here. Now I think we should go. Come on Lia," Adara explained quickly then turned and walked out the door.

Liara hesitated a moment then turned and started after her sister who had already left the building.

Vergil stood and held out a hand. "Wait," he said. "I want to ask one more question, of you, at least. Your sister doesn't seem to trust anyone. Either that, or she's just having a bad day."

"What's the question?" Liara asked, looking back at the older twin brother.

"Why did those demons attack you? There were quite a few there. Even for an attempt to kill two angels," he observed.

"We killed their leader. We're attempting to find someone close to us," she answered.

Vergil blinked. Well that would be one reason why, he thought to himself. He looked to Dante for a moment, as if he was in silent communication. Dante looked at his brother out of the corner of his eye; he shrugged then leaned back in the desk chair.

Vergil turned back To Liara. "We want to offer our help to you. To find this person. Free of charge," he said.

"Okay, but I don't know how Dar would feel. She isn't trusting of people. I personally don't know why but I will convince her," she explained.

"Okay, come back tomorrow after you get off work and you can tell us everything we need to know," he said, sitting back down on the sofa.

Liara nodded with a tiny smile on her face then walked out of the office.

"No. No, no, no! We are NOT letting them help us!" Adara exclaimed, crossing her arms, turning away from her sister.

"I already accepted though! And it's free-of-charge! Dar, they're demon hunters, they can help us!" Liara stated in defense of herself.

Adara sat down on their torn up couch. "And how do you know they are demon hunters?"

"Er, the sign outside the building. It said 'Devil May Cry.' I heard about it from one of the other dancers," she explained with a weak smile.

Adara blinked. She didn't know how she missed seeing that sign. But still she was skeptical about accepting help from others.

Adara looked into her sisters pleading eyes. She sighed and looked out the window. "Fine. We will play it your way," she mumbled, caving into her sister's desires.

Liara jumped up and down. "YAY!" she said excitedly running over and hugging her sister tightly. "You won't regret this. I swear."

"Yeah, yeah now can we go to bed?" Adara sighed.

Liara nodded and walked back to her room. "Night sis."

"Night…" Adara still couldn't believe she got talked into being helped by complete strangers.

It was late night when the girls got off work. And again it was a slow night. Slower than usual. They left the strip club through the back door, the lock still broken from Dante the day before. They turned the corner and walked in the direction of 'Devil May Cry'. Adara was still unsure of what her sister was getting her into. She knew nothing about these boys and who or _what_ they even were. For all she knew they were demons, or even fellow angels. Though she highly doubted they could be angels. She finally settled her mind on them being Human, for the sake of her sister, and her own sanity. She couldn't spend forever worrying about what realm they hailed from.

They stopped in front of the large office. Liara knocked gently on the door then opened it a little and stuck her head in. "We're here," she announced.

Vergil looked up. "Come in and make yourselves at home," he greeted.

The girls stepped inside and looked around. Adara walked over to the couch and sat down, Liara followed suit.

"Where is your brother?" the black-haired girl asked.

"Out taking care of a small job. So, what's your story?"

"Well, our mother has been missing for six years. Everyone says she's dead but I – I mean _we_ know she isn't," Liara explained, moving an errand strand of back hair from in front of her cerulean blue eyes.

"Lia! Don't just blurt it out!" Adara snapped.

"Well he needs to know!" Liara spat, lightly tugging on one of her sisters long mahogany curls.

Adara swatted her sister's hand away and growled lightly, then turned away. Liara looked back at Vergil. He pulled up a chair and sat in it across from the girls.

"Tell me a little about her. And yourselves of course," he instructed, his full attention on the girls.

Adara held a hand up in front of her sister. "Let me handle this ok?" she ordered. "Our mother, she is an angel. This is most likely the cause of her disappearance. But we suspect something odd. Like foul play."

"What about your father? Isn't he around to help you? He is an angel also?"

"No. He isn't around and he is, or rather was, human," she replied.

"Dad died when we were about nine…" Liara explained with a frown.

"Any leads? Who do you suspect took her?" Vergil said looking quickly over at Liara then back to Adara.

"None."

"Well, we shall see what we can do," Vergil said.

Everyone looked to the door when it opened with a creak then shut loudly. "That was a waste of time. Two damn demons," Dante complained. He set his sword and guns down on the desk then walked over and stood next to his brother.

"I am done asking questions. You can ask them something if you want," Vergil stated.

Dante gave a smirk and looked down at the girls. "How old are you two?"

"How is that relevant to their case?" Vergil asked shooting a look up at his younger half. "God, never mind…"

Liara blinked. "Two weeks from turning 20. Why?"

"Curious," Dante replied, walking away.

"I think we should go now…" Adara announced standing, as did her sister.

"We will call you if we find anything," Vergil stated.

The girls walked out of the building without another word. "You better be right about them, Lia," Adara warned, leading the way back to their apartment.


	6. Chapter Five

Clean Hatred

Disclaimer: We do not own any of the already-established settings, characters, or other affiliated subject-matter recognizable from any of the Devil May Cry games. They belong to Capcom, Sony, and their affiliates. So please, don't sue us, you won't get more than twenty bucks collectively.

Author's Note from Luna Angel: Sorry this is a day late. Sol and I are taking advantage of our chance to actually converse face-to-face and working on Chapter 11 and ideas for the rest of the fic. I apologize sincerely for forgetting to update. Not much else to say, enjoy the chapter and I'll see you in 8, since Sol wrote the next two.

Chapter 5

Dante growled and tossed his cue onto the pool table, barely registering the sound of protest Vergil made when the cue disturbed his shot, sending the three-ball rolling down the table, knocking aside the five- and six-balls on its way.

"Hey!" Vergil cried angrily, glaring at Dante. "What the hell was that for?"

"Two weeks," Dante muttered loudly. "Two damn weeks, and not one word about _anything_ and certainly not about their mother," he exclaimed, gesturing wildly at the two girls playing cards on the sofa across the room.

Liara looked up from her hand at the commotion, frowning at Dante in concern, but Adara's triumphant yell drew her attention to the pile of cards in front of her.

"Yes!" Adara cried, slapping the final card from her hand on the discard pile.

Liara looked at the two Ace-King-Queen runs and the set of tens her sister had put down, then at her own chaotic hand, and finally at Adara's smirking face. "What the…?" she murmured, confusion covering her face. "How the hell do you do that?"

"It's a gift," Adara responded lightly with a playful grin. "And I do believe that's another win for me. How much is that you owe me now?" Adara laughed as she heard Liara's soft growl. "Maybe we should consider a different game next time?" she asked, her eyes sparkling at her sister in mirth. "The Rummy gods don't seem to be smiling on you lately."

"Yeah, yeah," Liara grumbled, beginning to gather the cards into an orderly pile.

Adara helped her absently as the two of them listened to Dante's angry rant.

"It just doesn't make any sense!" Dante was exclaiming, well into his groove now. "She can't have vanished off the planet! _Someone_ must know _something_, but wherever the hell they are, they sure aren't talking! And it's beginning to piss me off."

Vergil interrupted before he could once again start in on the futility of their search so far. "Calm down, Dante. It's not as if we're doing nothing. We are looking, and in the meantime, Adara and Liara are both safe, something which wasn't guaranteed before they met us. The rest will work itself out. As you pointed out, she can't have disappeared, so sooner or later, someone will know something."

Seeing Dante was about to start yelling again, Liara looked at Adara with a slightly worried frown.

Adara rolled her eyes and nodded vaguely, shaking her head with a tolerant smirk when Liara practically threw the cards down before pushing herself to her feet and moving over to Dante. She watched with an unreadable expression, her head tilted slightly to the side, as Liara placed her hand gently on Dante's elbow and began trying to calm him down.

"Calm down. You're trying the best you can and you know it." Liara soothed.

Dante stopped his tirade for a moment and looked at Liara's chest, "Sorry I'm just… frustrated…" he replied, trailing off a bit.

Liara removed her arm from his elbow and lifted his chin until his silvery-blue eyes met her own cerulean blue ones, "My eyes are about a foot north."

Dante gave her a smirk. "Couldn't help myself."

Liara blushed a bit but her flushed cheeks quickly faded back to their normal color. Vergil just rolled his eyes while Adara stared in utter disbelief at Dante's advances on her sister.

Adara shook her head violently to snap herself out of her reverie and returned her attention to the cards still spread out in front of her, beginning to collect them again. She leaned down to pick up a few strays from the floor, but a hand beat her to them, and she looked up at Vergil as he straightened slowly and held them out to her.

"Here."

She just stared at him for a moment before hesitantly taking them from him. "Thank you," she said with a shy smile, before ducking her head and beginning to organize the haphazard pile of cards in her hand. She valiantly tried to ignore the movement of her end of the sofa as Vergil sat down, the cushion she was sitting on rising slightly as his weight shifted the balance. Instead of looking up again, she simply turned another few cards, trying to get them to all face the same direction.

Once they were all even, she quickly slid them back inside their battered box, before trying to find something else to occupy herself, other than thoughts of her mother, the overwhelming presence beside her, or the obvious flirtation her sister was engaged in with Dante. The thought that filled her mind was, if possible, even more unwelcome, and she barely managed to suppress her groan as a most unwelcome voice entered her head, the sickeningly-sweet, patronizing tones of Magda, her neighbor at their last apartment. _If you're not careful to stop driving these men away, dearie, you're going to end up an old maid, all alone, just wasting away._ If there was anything she needed less on her twentieth birthday than the inane observations of a senile old woman, she didn't know what it was. The only thing that made her not kill Magda for her comment was the fact that she was in the process of moving when it was made, and that Magda didn't know anything about the circumstances of the break-up between herself and Andre. And that hitting an eighty-year-old woman was generally considered wrong, and it wouldn't be a fair fight anyway.

This rationalization didn't make the words hurt any less, however, especially when Adara herself often had trouble imagining having anyone else around when she was older. The cranky tabby that often starred in her dreams didn't count as company, and didn't even really enjoy being her pet, judging by the large scratches that adorned her forearms and face in those same dreams.

Adara shook herself violently again to dislodge her own feelings of self-pity, forcing herself to focus on the ongoing conversation between Liara and Dante. She smiled genuinely at the conversation, glad that at least one of them seemed to be enjoying their birthday.

A faint crash reached her ears and she perked up, her head turning toward the door, before returning to the other people in the room. Vergil and Dante had immediately moved for their weapons, their hands pausing once they had them. A second, louder, crash spurred them to strap them on, and caused Liara to move a few steps back, obeying the silent demand from Dante to get behind him.

Adara stood and moved to stand beside Liara, as Vergil moved a few steps closer to the three, and they all stood staring at the door.

A third crash, closer still, drove the group into action, as Dante and Vergil moved in unison to the door, heading out into the street.

A softly-uttered oath drew Adara's attention away from the rather large group of demons heading toward them down the street and onto Vergil. Her eyes were wide as she stared at him, having never heard anything so crass pass between his lips. The word was more suited to Dante, and was, in fact, echoed by him moments later.

Liara grabbed for Adara's hand without looking, and they entwined their fingers nervously as they alternated their attention between the two sword-bearing men in front of them and the advancing demons.

A wordless communication seemed to pass between the two brothers and they moved in unison toward the demons, brandishing their weapons threateningly.

The battle began rather suddenly, in Liara's opinion, as Dante leapt toward the nearest demon, bringing his sword down in a violent strike. The demon retaliated, and the fight was on.

The twin, silver-haired forms moved in a strange mirror of one another, seemingly unconsciously as they moved through the oncoming herd, taking out demons right and left. But for every one they killed, another came forward. Their frenzy seemed to be having no effect on the swarm's numbers, and the longer they fought, the angrier they became.

Both of them had glowing red eyes by the time they could see a significant decrease in the numbers surrounding them.

Amazingly, the battle seemed to end as suddenly as it began, the oncoming demons simply turning and leaving, without an obvious reason.

Dante finished off a final demon with a single shot from Ebony, placing it back in its holster carefully and glancing around at the chaos born of the altercation with a slightly satisfied expression. He smirked to see Liara finishing off a stray demon who had managed to get past himself and Vergil.

Vergil dusted off his coat as they moved back toward the girls, a small smile pulling at one corner of his mouth at the expression of utter disgust on Adara's face as she looked at the demon remnants on her clothing before he could completely repress it. By the time she looked up, however, it was gone, and his face was set in its usual stoic lines.

"Well, that was… suitably disgusting…" Adara said with a slight shudder.

"Yeah, though it was fun," Liara responded, giving a teasing smile in her sister's direction.

Adara's lip quirked upward slightly in agreement, but she didn't say anything in response.

"What was that?" Liara asked, looking up at Dante.

"Dunno," he said. "Just a random demon attack, for now."

"What happened?" Adara asked. "Why did the rest of them leave?"

Dante merely shrugged and made his way back into Devil May Cry.

Adara frowned at his back, while Liara and Vergil followed him. "Why is it I'm the only one who seems concerned about this?" she muttered under her breath, shaking her head and casting her gaze upward before shrugging and following the others into the office.


	7. Chapter Six

AN: this chappie is sort of a filler sort of not. I enjoyed writing it and I hope you enjoy reading it.

Disclaimer: We dont own DMC, Dante or Vergil. If we did the darn game would be on xbox. anyway its just a fic. enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 6

Dante gritted his teeth in frustration, gripping his sword with both hands; he swung Rebellion again at his brother's mid-section then immediately lifted it above his head and swung down at him in a strong powerful strike. Both of these attempts were easily avoided by Vergil. He just stepped back then to the side of his brothers swings and gave a smirk. This upset Dante even more; he always had trouble defeating his elder twin.

Vergil held his sword to the side of him, the tip pointed to the ground behind him. He gripped the hilt of his Yamato tighter. A small drop of sweat rolled down his bicep as he stood there, a stern, thoughtful look on his face, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Dante stood ready, his sword out in front of him, he was ready to receive and block the attack.

Vergil suddenly lunged at his brother. Instead of slashing at him, he brought his sword up to meet Dante's. The two's blades made contact, and Vergil began pushing him back close to the edge.

Dante smirked. "You know… that horde of demons from yesterday…" he grunted out.

"Yeah?" Vergil responded taking a few more steps towards him.

"It was bigger than the last one," Dante commented, pushing back to prevent himself from toppling over.

Vergil grunted in response then ducked out of the way, making Dante stumble forward. Vergil turned towards his brothers back and slashed at him.

Dante caught his balance and sighed. He reached around and touched his lower back, frowning as he felt a slight dampness where a small line of blood started oozing out. "Fuck. Lost again…"

Vergil smirked in satisfaction and walked over to the door leading back down from the roof. "Looks like you pay for the dinner tonight…"

"Wait. I want a do over," Dante demanded angrily.

"Now, if we did that, we would never leave this roof. Stop your whining. You know the rules. First person to draw blood wins," Vergil stated, opening the door and walking inside.

Before Dante walked to the door, he looked over the edge. As if on cue, Liara walked up with her sister, three white plastic bags in hand. Dinner had arrived and he had to reimburse for the meal. He hated to lose, especially to his brother, something which he had a habit of doing.

Dante opened the door and walked downstairs, sword slung over his shoulder. He stopped by the washroom and cleaned off the sweat on his upper body, along with the small trace of blood on his back. He then grabbed a white wife-beater off the counter and slipped it over his head. He picked up his sword again and walked out into the office area. He set it down on the pool table and sighed before walking to the desk and pulling out a few twenty dollar bills, dropping them on top of the desk. He collapsed into the chair and closed his eyes.

Vergil soon appeared from the back hall, back in his normal attire of dark blue leather, along with his long light blue leather jacket with red lining. He gently laid his Yamato against the couch arm then sat down on the couch and waited for the food.

Liara and Adara walked into the office and held out the white bags. "We bring Chinese!" Liara exclaimed excitedly.

The boys looked up at the bags in Liara's hands. The room began to smell of chow mein and stir fry with pecans as she walked to the desk and set the bags down. She looked down and saw the two 20-dollar bills on top of the oak desk.

"What's this?" she asked, pointing to the cash.

"Why, it's a reimbursement to the food, babe," Dante said with a smirk.

She blushed at his 'babe' comment a bit. "You don't have to pay. It's on me and Dar tonight," she explained, pushing the twenties back to him.

He shrugged and took the money back, slipping it back in the top drawer. "If you say so," he said, giving her a wink. "But you owe me."

Her cheeks blazed with an even brighter red. Liara almost thought her head was going to burst into flames from how embarrassed she felt at that moment. She never had such a good-looking guy hit on her outside of work, or any guy hit on her out of the club for that matter.

She quickly opened the bags of food and started setting small white boxes of Chinese food on the table followed by a handful of fortune cookies and a tinfoil bag with egg rolls in it.

Dante started for the fortune cookies when his hand was swatted away by Liara. "Now, now, if you eat those before the dinner they won't come true," she said with a wink.

He grunted and sat back in the seat, with his arms crossed. "Fine, hand me some chow mein and a plastic fork," he ordered, a bit disappointed.

She opened up a box then grabbed a fork from the bottom of one of the plastic bags and stuck it in. She followed up with a pork egg roll lying on top and a napkin wrapped around the bottom of the box. "Here," she said handing it over.

Dante took the food with a smirk on his face. "Thanks babe," he said. He set the napkin down in front of him then removed the egg roll from the top of the box and took a big bite out of it.

"Verg, what do you want?" Adara asked.

Vergil stood up and walked over to the food. Without a word he grabbed a pork egg roll and a box of fried rice with a fork. "I'm okay with this. You guys have what you want," he replied, walking to a nearby chair and began eating.

Liara followed suit by grabbing a marked container that held Chicken chow mein with pecan bits and a fork, sitting down near Dante to begin eating. Adara just grabbed one of the fortune cookies and made her way to the couch with a separate bag. She sprawled out, setting the bag on the floor beside her as she lounged, her feet up on one armrest while she leaned against the other. She carefully extricated a styrofoam bowl from within the bag, pulling out a plastic spoon and a napkin, resettling herself comfortably before pulling off the plastic lid. She let out a contented sigh as the rich scent of the egg drop soup floated on the steam up to her nose, grinning before beginning to eat.

For a while the group sat in silence, eating box after box of the food. Then, Dante dropped a noodle on the desk as he lifted the fork to his mouth. He set the fork back down in his second box of chow mein and gave a small smirk, reaching down to grab it and flick it at Liara. The tiny noodle hit her right in the forehead. She flinched as the cold noodle hit her above the eyes and fell off her face and onto her lap.

She looked up at him with a menacing smirk and pulled a long noodle out of her chow mein and threw it at him. The still warm noodle landed on his nose and hung there for a while. He looked down at it as it dangled there. Liara suddenly burst out in laugher at the look on his face.

Dante responded by throwing a noodle of his own. He purposefully aimed for her cleavage, his eyes following it as it hit its mark. She looked down at the noodle then up at him.

"I can get that out for you if you want," he offered with a wide, cheesy grin.

"Oh, you would like that wouldn't you," Liara said, responding to the flirtatious statement.

He raised an eyebrow at her remark and opened his mouth to respond, only to find three noodles flying at him. One hit his cheek, followed by one partway in his mouth and another on his shoulder.

The commotion at the desk drew Adara's attention for a moment. When she saw the food fight beginning, she just rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to her food. Vergil moved his chair a couple feet closer to her, stopping near her feet, his attention divided between his food and her. When he saw her roll her eyes again at the continuing fight, he couldn't help but respond. "They look to be having fun," he ventured hesitantly, remembering vividly the last time he had attempted to initiate a conversation, and the rapid, rather harsh, rebuff she had given.

"It's childish," Adara scoffed, not looking up from the cardboard container in her hand. She expertly used her chopsticks to snag a sautéed chunk of onion, bringing it to her mouth with a practiced ease.

"I suppose," Vergil allowed, somewhat relieved she seemed at least willing to share an innocuous conversation without snapping at him. "But just the same, they're both more relaxed than they have been in days."

Adara frowned, clearly not agreeing with him, but only shook her head in response.

Vergil considered himself lucky that she had consented to speak as long, and civilly, as she had, and turned his attention back to his own food without any attempt to jump-start the conversation. Instead, he glanced up at the dueling pair, now squared off in the center of the room, cartons of chow mein grasped in each of their hands, their forks, and all pretense of eating, long since dropped.

Liara nailed Dante with a stir-fried chunk of celery on his cheek, grinning as it dropped off, leaving a smear of sauce behind it.

Dante replied with a few noodles of his own. Liara saw it coming and ducked. The cold chow mein flew over her head and she watched with mild, but growing, horror as it impacted with Adara's neck, dripping down to her shoulder.

The shock of cold startled Adara from her consumption of her vegetable lo mein, and her eyes widened when the slimy noodles slid down the side of her neck. She picked the noodles off her shoulder and held them up in front of her eyes, glancing at them curiously, as though unsure what they were. Liara looked prepared for retaliation, but she just dropped the noodles disdainfully to the floor, muttering under her breath about how disgraceful their childish behavior was. Without further ceremony, she took a napkin and wiped off her neck, before picking up her chopsticks again and bringing a bite of noodles and vegetables to her mouth.


	8. Chapter Seven

Clean Hatred

Disclaimer: If we owned it, we sure as hell wouldn't be wasting our time writing fanfic about it. So please, don't sue us, we're just a couple of out-of-work college gals.

Author's Note from Luna Angel: I didn't write this chapter. This one is purely Sol's. Unfortunately, her computer went kaput and she had to send it out for repairs, so she couldn't update herself. So she asked me to do it. Anyway, all credit goes to her, and I'll be the one updating for the next week or two until her comp gets back. Either way, just enjoy.

Chapter 7

Liara stared up at the shadow-encased ceiling, unable to sleep. Her mind was working overtime, turning over the events of the day and the entirety of her life since her mother disappeared, and it was keeping her awake. A small smile curved her lips as she remembered Dante's expression upon opening his fortune cookie once the remnants of their little food fight had been cleaned up. He was more than slightly disgusted by it, but didn't seem to want to share, and had quickly swallowed his distaste, regaining his normal expression.

Thinking of Dante brought her mind back to her own fortune, and she frowned as she considered the words. She had never been one to believe in those things, but this one just seemed… different, somehow.

The words kept running over in her mind, 'A pleasant surprise is in store for you.' She usually got ones that made no sense to her personal life at all or stated something that happened or wasn't even possible. This one seemed to be stating the future as if the paper was sure it would happen.

Finding their mother could have been it. She smiled in unadulterated joy when the thought crossed her mind. They had been searching for so long, without result, and it seemed like Adara was giving up. She certainly hoped she would find her mom soon, for both their sakes. If it went on much longer, Adara could lose all hope. And her own sanity wasn't helped by the lack of knowledge either.

* * *

Several blocks away, a very different creature was staring up at his own ceiling, a small slip of paper in his hand. He passed it between his fingers, twisting it into a small cylinder before unwinding it and switching it to his other hand. The restless fidgeting of his hands was the only motion in the otherwise still room. Carefully, he took one end of the paper and held it between his index finger and thumb, straightening it between his two hands. The darkness of the room hid the words from his gaze, but he didn't need light to know what was written on it. After reading it earlier that day, he had moved to throw it away, but instead, for some reason beyond his comprehension, had tucked it in his pocket.

Now, in the privacy of his own room, he turned the words over again in his head. "Your true love awaits?" Dante muttered under his breath. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Weren't fortunes supposed to say things like, 'Riches and Power will come to you' or 'The only true failure is a failure to try'? They weren't supposed to mention love. He continued in his thoughts.

He growled at himself lowly, and irritably crumpled the fortune in his fist, glaring at nothing. This was ridiculous. He put the crumpled paper on his night stand and turned his attention back to the ceiling. He placed his hands behind his head and slowly drifted off into an uneasy slumber.

* * *

The heightening sun pulled Dante from a restless sleep. He sat up and rubbed his aching forehead with a groan. These early-morning headaches were becoming more frequent, and would be the death of him, if he couldn't figure out what was causing them and stop it. He got out of bed slowly, bending over to pick his soft, brown-leather pants off the ground. He slipped them on and looked groggily around the hardwood floors for a pair of socks.

After searching for a while, he found the pair he took off last night hidden within the depths of his satin sheets, the gray-white hue a glaring contrast to the crimson bedclothes. He easily slipped them on, followed by his boots, and stretched, relishing the slight release of pressure when his ligaments popped. He walked out his bedroom door and into the office area while running his fingers through his silvery-blonde hair, doing his best to straighten it out and settle the sleep-mussed strands into some semblance of order.

Vergil looked up from his book after hearing the heavy footsteps of his brother's boots against the hardwood floors with a small smirk. "Well you look like shit. Or is this a new look for you?" he remarked in reference to the deep, dark circles under Dante's eyes and his bed head.

"I didn't sleep well," Dante replied with a glare.

Vergil let out a small laugh, his attitude irritating Dante. He walked up to his brother and messed up his spiked back hair to look like his own. Dante gave a smirk, now satisfied that he wasn't the only one ticked.

Vergil let out a low growl. He hated his hair messed up. He stood and quickly wrapped his arm around his younger twin's neck and pulled him down into a headlock. He then proceeded to smooth back Dante's hair to look spiked like his own.

Vergil let him go as Liara walked in the door to 'Devil May Cry'. Liara looked from Vergil to Dante then back again.

"Is this a joke, or a weird quirk where you two change clothes?" Liara asked with a small amount of amusement in her voice.

Dante shot a look at his brother who seemed quite pleased with the job he had done on his twin's hair. He grunted and fixed it, smoothing the tousled strands back into their normal style. "No. Vergil fucked with my hair."

"And you didn't?" Vergil shot back brushing his hair back with his fingers, returning to his normal spikes.

Liara gave a small snicker when she saw Dante's hair, all but returned to normal, except for the small section of hair in the center of his forehead that was still spiked. "What are you doing here? Don't you have work tonight?" Vergil asked attempting to hide the fact he detested their line of work. "And where's Adara?" he added when he noticed she was missing.

"I have tonight and tomorrow off," Liara explained. "But Adara's working, some private gig. They specifically requested her. I got bored just sitting in the apartment, so I decided to come here to hang out. I left her a note," she insisted, correctly interpreting Vergil's shocked expression as upset that she had left without Adara knowing where she was.

Dante and Vergil looked at each other and shrugged. For a moment they looked like mirrors, with their copied facial expressions and shrug.

"That works for me," Dante replied with his famous smirk.

With that, Liara set a large, black duffle bag down in the corner near the door and walked further into the office.

* * *

Nearly a half an hour later, Liara was laughing at a comment of Dante's when the door opened, admitting Adara, carrying a matching black duffle bag to the one her sister had carried in.

Liara's laughter abruptly broke off and she stood, frowning in concern. "Adara, what are you doing here?"

"The client canceled," Adara answered plainly, clearly irritated. "When I got home, I found your note, so I came here."

"They canceled?" Liara asked incredulously. "Why would they cancel? You're the best!"

"I don't know," Adara shrugged. "Maybe the wedding was called off." Adara shook her head in confusion, and moved across the room, collapsing onto the sofa, dropping her duffle beside her before tipping her head back and sighing with exhaustion.

"Oh well," Liara chirped cheerily, sitting back down beside her sister. "Whatever their reasons, you're here now."

Adara tilted her head back up and opened her eyes, smiling at Liara. "Yes, that I am."

Liara smiled back, before resuming her conversation with Dante.

* * *

A few hours later found Adara and Liara playing Rummy, with Liara loosing badly, as per usual. Vergil was reading a book and Dante was leaning back in the desk chair snoozing, his position precarious as the chair continuously threatened to tip backward. A large crash from outside drew Vergil and the girls' attention, but did nothing to draw Dante out of his nap.

"What was that?" Liara asked quickly.

Adara looked at her sister then motioned her head to the duffle bag in the far corner and flicked her eyes down to her own duffle. Liara nodded slowly, understanding the wordless message. Be ready for a battle.

Another crash came, this time a little closer. Vergil walked to the window and looked out. For a moment he didn't see anything, and then a red sedan flew past the window and landed down the street, screeching to a halt on its metal top. Liara cringed for a moment, as did Adara.

"Ew… Like nails on a chalkboard," Liara stated with disdain.

Vergil looked back at the still-sleeping Dante, then abruptly chucked his book at his head. The thickly-bound book made contact with the younger male's head, jerking him back into consciousness. He sat up immediately and looked around before glaring at his brother indignantly. "Wake up. There is trouble brewing," Vergil commented simply.

Dante stood and stretched. Then, he walked over and grabbed his and his brother's swords. He tossed his brothers katana to him and Vergil caught it with ease. The two boys walked outside with weapons in tow.

As soon as they ran outside, Liara ran to her bag and opened it, as Adara grabbed hers and hauled it up to the now-vacated half of the sofa. Liara pulled out her black-and-deep-green-lined katana, testing the edge with a small scrap of paper and smiling as it split cleanly. She gave her sister a quizzical look when she noticed her pulling out her Sai set. "Where's your bow?"

Adara smiled at her sister's confusion. "I left it at home. It's too closed in here, and the buildings are too high for it to be of much use. Besides, it's a bit conspicuous to be carrying around town. It's five feet long; it certainly wouldn't fit into my duffle. And anyway, the Sai are just as good," she explained as she wrapped her hands around the weapons.

Liara nodded, trusting her sister's judgment. They both stood and ran outside coming to a halt next to the boys. Vergil eyeballed the girl's weapons, shocked that they had any. The only time the two boys saw them fight was bare-handed. But now wasn't the time for musing on that, and he turned his attention back to the large horde of demons approaching.

Without a word, Liara drew her 30-inch, folded-steel katana and ran at the demons as fast as she could, her sister close on her heels. In a flash, Liara started slicing the creatures left and right.

She blocked a monsters scythe strike with her sheath at her right side, then did a fast strike to its midsection and turned her attention back to the ones in front of her. Her sister was in her element, stabbing her Sai's into demons and pulling them back so rapidly the movements of the elegant weapons were a blur. She was taking out demons almost as fast as her younger twin, her speed only impaired by her need to get in closer to the creatures than Liara did.

The boys snapped out of their stupor and rushed in to help. They were once again moving in an identical motion, working their way through the circle of demons to the girls.

Within minutes of the battles start, Liara's sword was knocked out of her hand, sliding to a stop 10 feet away. She was left protecting herself with her swords sheath, but with one strike of a scythe and a roar from a demon it snapped in two, leaving her defenseless. The demon prepared to strike again, and Liara squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation of her death, but the blow never came. She opened her eyes to see Adara shaking with the effort of holding the scythe back, her Sai's entwined with the wooden staff. When her strength began to give out, she gave a last strong twist of her weapons, popping the scythe out of the grip of the demon. She pulled one of her Sai's free and used it to stab the demon right between its eyes, but another demon approached the still-defenseless Liara from the other side, right as one attacked Adara.

Dante saw this and quickly strapped his sword onto his back and pulled out Ivory and began shooting at the demons. He ran up behind Liara and grabbed her around the waist and started shooting a path out of the swarm of demons.

Vergil saw his motion and sought out Adara with his eyes. Seeing her fighting valiantly against the swarm of demons surrounding her, he began making his way toward her side. He could see her strength waning and started to finish of the remainder of monsters near her, trying desperately to make sure all of them made it out of this alive.

Suddenly, with a loud screech, the demons vanished into thin air. The three fighters that were still armed lowered their weapons and looked around.

Dante looked down at Liara and smirked a bit. "You ok?"

"Yeah I am. Thanks," she said with a smile. She hesitated for a moment then leaned up and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Mmm… Do you always thank men like that for saving your life?" his smirk grew bigger.

She winked. "Only you," she replied then walked over to her sword and picked it up.

Adara walked over to her sister, scrutinizing her carefully. "You okay, Lia?" she asked cautiously.

Liara nodded with a smile. "Yeah Dar. Thanks."

"Hey, it's what I do," Adara quipped lightly, then gave her a weird look. "What was that?" she asked, a little shocked at Liara's behavior toward Dante.

"I don't know… I just did that…" Liara said with a nervous laugh, joining her sister in walking back into the office.

As Dante stared at Liara with a big grin on his face, Vergil walked past him and slapped him on the back of the head. "Get your mind out of the gutter," he ordered with a frown.

Dante snapped out of his daze and shot his brother a look then followed him back into 'Devil May Cry'.


	9. Chapter Eight

Clean Hatred

Disclaimer: Do I really have to get into this further? Fine. We don't own DMC, or anything related to it. We own Lia and Dar, and that's it. Everything else belongs to someone else.

Author's note from Luna: Damn, am I over-due for this chapter or what? Sorry 'bout that, but I promised Sol I'd finish chapter 11 before I posted 8 because I've been working on that chapter for almost two months now. So, anyway, this one's late, and I apologize, but 11's done now, so we should be getting back on schedule. Oh and by the way, I wanted to give a special thanks to Goddess, without whom this chapter probably wouldn't have been up yet. Thanks for complimenting us on our Dante/Verg personalities. I am totally insecure about that kind of thing, and your kind words motivated me to get off my ass and write chapter 11, so, thanks. Ok, incredibly long A/N done, moving on.

* * *

Chapter 8

Inside Devil May Cry, the atmosphere was empty of tension. The two girls sat side-by-side on the sofa, cleaning their weapons. A strange, almost loving, smile curved Adara's lips as she used a large, red terrycloth rag to wipe down her Sai's reverently, gently running the soft fabric across the perfectly polished silver planes of the weapon. Her sister was more matter-of-fact, cleaning her katana carefully, but not nearly as emotionally invested as Adara. She made certain every speck of blood was off the blade before she re-sheathed it, stowing it safely in her black duffel. That done, she glanced over at her sister.

Adara rocked back and forth slightly as she gently stroked her cloth along the lengths of her Sai. Her eyes were half-closed lazily. As she continued cleaning, even after all the blood was off and the blades were spotless, a small, quiet moan of pleasure escaped her throat. She carefully stored the weapons in their case, snapping it shut securely before hugging it to her chest, tucking her legs up around it. She allowed her eyes to close fully as she laid her head down, her cheek resting on the end of the case. A sound almost like a purr rumbled through her chest as she relaxed.

Liara smiled happily at the perfectly content picture Adara made. It was rare for her sister to be so relaxed, but she always savored the moments when they occurred. The innocence in Adara's countenance made Liara long for the camera they had long-since pawned, but lacking that, she resolved to memorize the image for her own enjoyment.

The door opened to let in Dante and Vergil, and Liara smiled at them as she perfunctorily zipped up her duffel. "Hey, what took you so long?" she asked brightly. "More demons come?"

Dante smiled back at her, while Vergil just nodded on his way to his desk. "No," Dante responded, replacing his sword and whipping off his guns to hang them on their hook behind his desk. "Everything's fine."

Accepting that was the most answer she was going to get out of him, Liara nodded. "Okay."

"What's wrong with her?" Dante asked, tilting his head at Adara, who was still curled into her ball, her eyes closed.

"Oh, it's nothing," Liara reassured. "She's always like this after a fight. Don't ask me why, I don't get it. It's kind of her cool-down phase, I guess."

"Speaking of…" Vergil muttered as he whipped off his coat and tossed it expertly to it caught on the hook behind his desk. He pulled off his sword and slapped it down on his desk as he sat in his chair.

"Yeah," Dante responded, sitting down in his own chair after removing his own coat. "Where'd you two learn to fight?"

At his astonished tone, Adara sat up, the black case falling to her lap. "Don't sound so shocked!" she snapped angrily. "We're not completely incompetent, you know. We _can_ do things other than strip and play the damsel in distress!"

"I never said you couldn't!" Dante quickly demurred, his hands palms-out in front of him as if to hold off her righteous anger. "I was just surprised. I mean, last time the demons attacked, you didn't even really seem to know how to fight."

"You know, we did manage to take out a demon weaponless last time, if you remember," Liara said, a tiny bit of upset slipping into her tone as well.

"Okay, let's all just calm down and start this over," Vergil said calmly, his eyes flicking between the indignant girls and his brother. "Dante wasn't trying to imply that you two couldn't take care of yourselves," he said, once both parties seemed a bit more subdued. "We were both just taken slightly aback when you two pulled out weapons. Where did you get them?"

"We were given them," Adara answered shortly, cutting off whatever her sister had been about to say. "After last time, we agreed that we should start carrying them, in case we were attacked again."

"Fair enough," Vergil murmured.

"When did you learn how to fight?" Dante asked, clearly slightly impressed by the skill and teamwork they had displayed in the previous battle.

"It was-" Liara began, but Adara cut her off again.

"A long time ago. It's not really important, and I bet you two boys aren't really interested in something like this, are you? So, why don't we just forget you ever asked, and Liara and I can go out and buy us all some dinner?" she asked with a clearly-forced smile.

"How come you never told us you could fight?" Dante asked, ignoring Adara's question entirely.

"When we were younger, our father told us that some people might want to take advantage of our fighting abilities, so we should be careful who we told about them. Until now, we've never told anyone."

Adara groaned lowly. "Liara!" she hissed under her breath, before flashing a fake smile at Dante.

"What?" Liara exclaimed exasperatedly.

"Don't you think you should maybe not tell them _everything_!" she hissed through gritted teeth, her smile widening even further.

"Dar, they're here to help us! I don't think they're going to turn on us," Liara said with a slight laugh.

She shook her head and, before Adara could voice another concern, looked back at Dante. "We started learning hand-to-hand combat almost as soon as we could walk. Father told us that it was important for young ladies to be able to defend themselves, so we had to concentrate on our lessons and work hard. Master Tierce trained us until father died when we were nine, and then mother took us away.

"Before Father died, we were also beginning to be trained in other forms of combat. We were both trained with our katana, though I took to it better than Dar did, and she excelled with Sai, where I never could master them. Eventually, our lessons were split, me training solely with my katana, and she with her Sai. Father died, leaving behind a pair of katana, one for each of us, that had been in the family for a long time, apparently.

"When Mother took us away, Adara was given her Sai as a gift from her Sai Master, and I was given another katana, the one I was using in our fight. But that's beside the point, and you probably didn't need to know it." Liara let off a slightly-embarrassed laugh and shook her head.

"Anyway!" she exclaimed, resuming her answer. "Mother started training the both of us in the bow, which was her weapon of choice, and insisted we continue our practice in our other weapons. Dar was the only one who really liked the bow, and she's continued to use it, where I dropped the lessons as soon as I was able."

"Liara…" Adara groaned desperately, burying her face in her hands.

"Oh calm down, Dar," Liara said, rolling her eyes at her sister's theatrics. "Stop being so uptight. It's not like either of them are going to use this against us, and it's not like its some huge secret."

"So, your father trained you?" Vergil asked curiously, actually leaning forward in anticipation of the information he was going to receive.

"Oh god no!" Liara exclaimed, laughing. "Father was far too busy to train us. No, he hired someone; Master Tierce at first, then Masters Kotohama and Xiao, once we progressed to weapons. Father hired a lot of people to take care of us," she elaborated at their slightly confused expressions. "We had our tutors, because we weren't allowed to attend a regular school, our Nanny, our Governess, and then, our Masters. Father only took care of a couple things, teaching a few specialty classes. Mother taught us about running a household, our Governess about proper behavior, our Masters about combat, and our tutors, about all manner of other things Father and Mother thought we should know."

"That sounds… somewhat lonely," Vergil observed quietly.

Liara shrugged with a bright smile. "I don't know! I thought it was fine. We were always occupied, and we saw our family often enough. No, I think it was all right."

"Well, what about your nanny? What did she do?"

"Oh, she was like a second mother. She took care of us, cooked, helped us with our homework once our tutors were gone, that sort of thing. In fact, one of my favorite things about her was that, when I couldn't sleep, she would comb her fingers through-"

"Okay, that's it!" Adara exclaimed, leaping to her feet, her face twisted in fury. "You've said enough!" she yelled, thrusting a finger in Liara's face.

"Dar," Liara began, her expression wounded.

"No! Shut up! You have already done enough damage, without telling them _everything_ about our childhood! Have you forgotten everything Mother told us! Did nothing she said about concealing our background sink into that thick skull of yours? My god, why don't you just go and scream it from the rooftops! 'Hi, I'm Liara Laeka, my family's rich, powerful, I'm trained in weapons, so why don't the people who killed my father and abducted my mother come and get me! I can be found at this address…'" she sneered sarcastically, tossing her head slightly from side to side with a vapid expression. Her fury drowned the fake expression again, twisting her face into an ugly shadow of its usual self. "I swear, Liara, I knew you were overly trusting, but I _never_ thought you were stupid. Until now," she growled dangerously, glaring violently at her sister.

With that, Adara turned on her heel and stalked out, jerking the door open so forcefully that it slammed into the wall and ricocheted back, falling closed with a faint click behind her.

The three people left behind stared at the closed door in shock, before Vergil stood rapidly, shrugging his coat back on. He looked between Dante and Liara, who looked completely stunned, and moved out from behind his desk. "I'll just go see if she's okay," he said, striding toward the door.

The door slid quietly shut after Vergil, leaving Dante and Liara alone in the office. The silence was overpowering, drowning the pair in its oppressive presence.

Dante watched with a small frown of concern as Liara stared at the closed door blankly. She hardly blinked for almost two full minutes, her lips slightly parted and eyes wide in disbelief.

The stasis that filled the room was broken when Liara's eyes fell closed, her expression filling with pain. A tear slipped out from under her lashes, falling to her cheek and sliding, slowing as it approached her jaw line. A matching track was drawn down her opposite cheek as another tear fell, then another, and another, until she was crying in earnest.

Dante froze in alarm, his eyes wide and panicked as he could do nothing more than watch while the woman in front of him fell to pieces. He fidgeted nervously, biting the inside of his lower lip as he mentally debated how to handle the situation. Hesitantly, he moved to the couch beside her, reaching out a hand and patting her awkwardly on the back.

Encouraged by his action, Liara turned and buried her face in his chest as she cried. Her hands clutched at his sleeves desperately, holding him in place.

Uncomfortable though he was with the situation, Dante found himself enclosing Liara in his arms, pulling her to him and making vague, comforting sounds against her hair. Under his ministrations, she gradually calmed, her tears slowing, and eventually stopping altogether.

She stayed in his embrace for a few seconds to compose herself, before she sat back and wiped the remnants of her tears from her face. She opened her face, smiling at Dante, but that expression soon turned to one of dismay. "Oh no, you're all wet…!" she exclaimed sadly, gazing at the darkened area of his cotton shirt.

At the incongruous statement, Dante found himself beginning to chuckle. The corner of Liara's mouth began to twitch as he laughed, and within a moment, they were both laughing.

As their laughter died down, Liara covered her face with her hand and groaned. "I can't believe I actually said that…"

Dante responded with a lascivious grin. "Hey, I'm willing to explore the possibilities. Are you game?" His eyes twinkled mischievously at her and he raised an eyebrow suggestively.

Liara's eyes widened, along with her smile, as she leaned away, her hands held up in front of her. "Oh, no, I'm not even going to take that one, mister. You'll just have to jump in a shower if you want to explore those possibilities. Maybe a cold one," she snickered with a devious smirk.

Dante recoiled in mock innocence. "Me? What did I say?"

Liara narrowed her eyes at him playfully. "Oh, you know exactly what you said. And you meant it, exactly how I took it."

"Well… maybe," Dante conceded grudgingly.

"Maybe?" Liara said with an incredulous laugh. "It was more than 'maybe', Dante, and you know it."

OoOoOoOoO

Vergil found Adara leaning against one of the light posts outside the office. The bulb had long since been shattered, but she didn't seem to be craving light. He sat on the curb near her, folding his long legs awkwardly, and spoke without turning.

"Are you all right?"

Adara snorted derisively, rolling her eyes at the question. "Do I look all right?" she snarled bitterly, glaring at the back of his head. The thought ran through her head for about the five hundredth time that week that he really should do something about that hair. But the superficial jeer was rapidly swallowed by the still-boiling anger at her sister.

Vergil ignored her obviously-rhetorical question. "Why did you come out here?"

"Because I wanted to be fucking left alone!" she yelled furiously. "Can you not understand that concept! Is it beyond the comprehension of that miniature lump of flesh you have the audacity to call a brain that someone might not need the constant droning of idiots filling their day!"

Vergil finally looked at her, shocked at the blatant ire in her voice. He hadn't heard that much hatred in a very long time, and never from this slip of a girl. Even when she had yelled at Liara, her anger had carried an undertone of caring that couldn't make it completely horrible, but that was gone now. For some reason, it upset him that she was upset, and he determined to try to calm her. "Is there something I can do? I know, I'll make you a cup of tea."

Adara outright growled at that, a primitive sound that startled Vergil even more coming from her throat. "You will not," she hissed through clenched teeth.

He backed off quickly, turning his head back to look out over the empty, darkened street. There was a stretching moment of silence during which Adara began to hope he was going to leave her in peace, before he spoke again, shattering all her dreams of solitude. "I know for some reason you don't like us, but I am here if you ever want to talk, Adara."

"You betrayed me, Andre!" she exclaimed. "Why would I ever confide anything in you!"

Vergil started when she addressed him as Andre, and immediately looked around for someone else. Seeing no one, he returned his gaze to her face. Most of the features were hidden in the planes of deep shadows, but her eyes practically glowed in the rapidly-falling night, angry emotion flaming within them.

Adara's eyes suddenly dulled, all the fire leaving them as rapidly as if doused with water. Her eyes flicked away from him, her entire face turning toward the empty street as if she were embarrassed. The sudden lack of emotion scared him, he was surprised to realize.

"Who is Andre?" he asked when she didn't speak again.

The question brought her eyes back to his, and he was relieved to see the fire flare back to life in them, even if it was in anger at him. "_That_," she hissed, "is none of your business. Now, if you don't mind, I am going to remove myself from your distasteful presence; and, in the future, you would do well to remember that I would prefer you not approach me unless it is related to demon hunting." With the last poisonous words spat from between her lips, she pivoted on her heel and strode back into the office, leaving Vergil sitting on the curb, staring after her in bewilderment.

"Women…" he muttered, shaking his head slightly in confusion, before standing and following her back inside.

OoOoOoOoO

Liara slapped Dante playfully as she laughed at another of his teasing, somewhat lascivious, remarks. "You are such a… I don't even know how to describe you! That was a totally inappropriate comment! You can't say things like that to a lady!"

"What lady?" he quipped in return, looking around in fake puzzlement.

Liara glared at him without any venom behind the expression, before the smile twitching at her lips couldn't be repressed any longer, and broke out over her face. "You are so bad," she said lightly, shaking her head at him.

Dante's mischievous grin returned slowly, overtaking his face and making his eyes sparkle enticingly. "And, what, exactly, are you going to do about it, Liara?"

"I know precisely what I'm going to do about it, Dante," she responded with a matching grin as she leaned toward him slightly.

"And what is that?" he asked, raising a challenging eyebrow as he leaned toward her as well.

"This," she stated victoriously, closing the last few centimeters between them and pressing her lips to his.

The kiss was chaste, lasting mere seconds before she pulled back slightly. Liara's eyes glowed slightly in satisfaction, her lips curved into a purely-female smile as she looked at Dante.

His eyes darkened, clouding with lust, before he leaned forward again, claiming her lips with his. His hands clasped tightly on her upper arms, pulling her into him as he kissed her. She responded by moving closer to him, leaning over his lap, her body supported by her hand on the arm of the couch beside him, as his tongue darted out to trace her bottom lip, prodding gently as it sought entry into her mouth.

Liara succumbed to his authority, opening her lips under his, allowing him inside. Their tongues tangled together, teasing and twining around one another as the kiss became more passionate.

Dante growled low in his throat, yanking Liara closer, so she was practically lying in his lap. She followed willingly, a moan of pleasure welling up in her throat as he continued his fierce seduction.

Unfortunately, they were forced to part for air, each breathing in ragged gasps as they tried to regain themselves. Panting, their eyes met, and they were unable to stay apart, diving forward as one until their lips met again, tongues immediately intertwined with one another, each dueling for dominance.

A sound somewhere between a scandalized gasp and an angry scream interrupted them, jolting them apart. Liara flung herself from Dante's side and onto her feet, wiping at her mouth hastily. "Adara!" she exclaimed hastily. "I can explain…"

"Save it," Adara growled venomously, glaring at the pair. "I don't want to hear it, Liara. You do whatever the hell you want, just leave me out of it." She scooped up her bag, slinging it over her shoulder as she turned to leave. She was halted in her quest by Vergil, who had come in after her and was blocking her path to the door.

"Do you mind?" she asked harshly. "Get out of my way."

Vergil hastened to obey, stepping to the side and watching as she strode to the door.

She paused in the doorway, holding the door open, as she looked back at Liara. "If you ever decide to stop sucking face and remember who your _real_ family is, you know where I'll be." Without another word, she left, rapidly disappearing into the shadows until she was invisible.

As the door swung shut gently behind Adara, the remaining three found themselves in a very familiar position, staring at the place she had been only moments before.

Liara cringed slightly as she stood, gathering her own duffel. "I'm sorry about that," she said contritely. "I'm sure she didn't mean it, she's just upset. I'll go find her and see if I can calm her down." She started toward the door, but Dante's voice gave her pause.

"Be careful."

Liara turned back and smiled. "I will, don't worry. I'll see you two tomorrow."

All too soon, the door swung shut behind her as well, leaving the brothers alone again.

After a moment, Vergil and Dante looked at each other, then, as if one, they shook their heads and sighed.

"Women…"

OoOoOoOoO

Liara made her way down the deserted streets toward their apartment, silently rehearsing what she would say to Adara. She muttered under her breath as she walked. "'Dar, I know you don't trust them…' no, that won't work. Okay, 'Listen, they're trying to help us…' No, she'll never go for that one. How about 'Look, if they were going to-'" she broke off abruptly and paused in her walk, sensing something was wrong. She glanced around, turning to look behind her. "Is someone there?" she called, but the street was silent. She stood still for another minute, before shrugging and continuing on her way, the only sign on her continued unease her increased pace.

She was practically running when she reached the apartment building. She bolted inside and up the stairs, throwing open their door and locking it behind her, leaning back against it as she panted lightly. "Well, that was weird," she said aloud to the empty apartment.

Liara pushed herself off the door and moved into the apartment. "Dar? Are you here?" she called, but no answer came. She looked around, seeing her sister's black duffel, so she knew she had been here, even if she wasn't now.

Liara shook her head, walking past the huge, worn sofa that often served as Adara's bed and into her bedroom, one of two in the apartment. She dropped her duffel on her bed and stripped out of her sweat-soaked t-shirt, tossing it on the pile of dirty clothes in the corner. She walked to her dresser, opening the second drawer and shifting through the stacks of neatly-folded shirts within. She located the one she was searching for and pulled it out, slipping it over her head and smoothing it down over her stomach carefully. She changed out of her worn jeans into a pair of neat black flares and slipped on her favorite pair of black leather boots. She moved out of her room and to the bathroom, where she started pulling a brush through her hair. If she was right about where she thought Adara was (and she was), she needed to be more presentable than she was right now.

She twisted her hair up into a loose knot on the back of her head, securing it with a veritable mountain of bobby-pins, before she moved to the full-length mirror in the main room to look over her appearance. She nodded in satisfaction of her outfit, picking a miniscule spot of lint off her semi-casual, dark purple, V-neck sweater before she moved to the table beside the door.

Liara quickly filled the black purse she found there with a small wad of cash and one of the several false ID's she had, along with a few more hair-pins. She slipped a slim dagger into her boot and cast a final glance around the apartment before leaving, stowing her keys in her purse as well once she had locked the door. She set off down the dark street with a slight bounce in her step, toward Adara's favorite club, 'Special Prejudice'.

The bright neon lights of the club were an oasis in the desolate portion of the city, beckoning her toward them. Her steps picked up as she made her way, skipping past the line queued at the door. She trotted up to the bouncer, tossing him a wide smile. "Hey Greg!" she greeted cheerfully. "Is Adara inside?"

"Hi Liara, yeah, she's inside. I didn't expect to see either of you here tonight."

"Hey, neither did I, but things don't always turn out like we expect, you know? Can I go in?"

"Of course. Head right in," he said, opening the door for her.

"Thanks," she chirped, throwing another grin at him before making her way into the crowded club.

After paying the cover charge, she made her way up the stairs leading to the balcony. She paused halfway up, casting her gaze over the throng of bodies filling the hardwood floor, dancing to the pounding beat flowing from the speakers. She smiled as she caught sight of Adara, dancing in the center of the floor, surrounded by at least seven men all vying for her attention.

Liara made her way back to the main floor, weaving through the dancing pairs or groups toward her sister. She had to push her way through the circle around Adara, but she managed to get close enough to be heard over the music. "Dar!" she yelled.

Adara barely turned her attention from the man with her, sparing Liara hardly a glance before she went back to her partner, writhing against him in time to the beat.

Liara rolled her eyes, but pushed closer. "Dar!" she yelled again, this time taking hold of Adara's bicep. When her sister turned fully to face her, she pointed a finger at each of them, then jerked her thumb toward the side door. "We need to talk!" she yelled.

Adara rolled her eyes, but nodded, leading the way to the door, to the disappointment of her partners. Liara followed her, and they made their way out to the somewhat-quieter alley.

"What is it?" Adara asked as soon as the door closed, cutting off the majority of the music, though the pounding bass could still be heard through it.

"Why did you leave?"

"Well, gee, I thought that would have been obvious," Adara said dryly, rolling her eyes again. "I left because I was pissed. That's why I came here, to calm down."

"I just don't understand why you're so mad!" Liara exclaimed, gesturing helplessly.

"Do you even remember what it was like after Father was killed?" Adara asked angrily, glaring at her. "Do you remember the running, the people hunting us, the hiding? Do you want to have to do that all over again, just because we're careless? I don't. We've got a good thing going here; I don't want to have to leave again."

"What, like we did after the place on Mission?" Liara asked sarcastically, referring to their previous apartment.

"Yes, like that," Adara snapped. "Last time we left was because I got careless and someone found out about us. Do you want that to happen again? If you do, by all means, continue telling Dante about our past. But I, for one, don't want to run again. I like it here. I like our apartment, and our friends, and our job. I don't want to leave it all."

"Neither do I!" Liara exclaimed. "But… I don't know, I just feel like we can trust them!"

"Well, that's all well and good, Lia, but what happens if we can't? What happens if you tell them about us, and they turn on us, and we have to run again? I don't want to do it. I won't do it."

"We won't have to. They're not going to turn on us. They're _helping _us!"

"Fine. You can trust them all you want. I'm not going to. Just…"

"Yeah?"

"Can you… not tell them about _us_? It's too risky. Let them think we're just half-angels. It's safer."

"Okay. I can do that," Liara said with a small smile. "Now, can we go home? It's late."

"Sure," Adara said with a laugh.

"Good," Liara sighed. She held out her arm to her sister. "Shall we?"

"We shall," Adara responded, linking her arm through Liara's. Together, the two made their way out to the street and back toward their apartment.

Neither of them noticed when the shadows behind them shifted, a dark figure visible against it for a mere instant before it blended back into the darkness again, invisible.

OoOoOoOoO

"That Adara is just strange," Dante stated abruptly into the silence that had reigned at Devil May Cry since Liara left to follow her sister.

Vergil paused for a moment as he secured the door, his movements stilling before they resumed. "She's not so odd," he said, his tone carefully controlled.

"Yeah?" Dante snorted indelicately in disbelief. "How do you figure? She's a freak."

"She's just… different," Vergil said democratically as he turned the last lock. He turned from the door and made his way back to his desk, his face kept turned to the floor.

A smirk appeared on Dante's face as he observed his elder brother. "You like her, don't you?"

"No," Vergil hastily said as he shuffled papers on his desk, but the color tinting his cheeks belied his assertion.

"You do!" Dante exclaimed, his smirk widening into a full-blown grin. "You like Adara!" he exclaimed with a delighted laugh. "Oh, this is just classic! Vergil's got a cru-ush," he teased in a sing-song tone, laughing louder as Vergil's color reddened.

"Shut up," Vergil snapped, glaring at him balefully. "So what if I do like her? You're one to talk, with the way you were hanging all over her sister."

"Ah, but that's different," Dante said sagely.

"How so?"

"Because I never denied I liked Liara, and she's so much more normal than her sister."

"Adara's not abnormal. She's just quiet, and withdrawn. That doesn't make her odd. It makes her cautious."

"Yeah, well, whatever. All I can say is good luck to you, buddy. You got your work cut out for you with that one."

"I know…" Vergil murmured as his hands stilled on the files he was arranging. "She just doesn't seem to trust anyone…"

"Well, that's not true. She likes women well enough. It's just men she's leery of. Hey," he grinned, "maybe she doesn't swing our way."

Vergil glared at him venomously. "Oh, do shut up."

Dante's delighted laugh reached the street.


	10. Chapter Nine

Clean Hatred

Disclaimer: Is anyone still doubting that we don't own DMC? Okay, once more, with feeling: We don't own it, please don't sue us for having our little fun.

A/N from Luna: Whoo-hoo, another chapter! On time, this time, too. I'll be moving on to the fic in just a moment, but I wanted to take a second to respond to a couple of reviews.

One, to Demon Spawn: I know, Dante's being really sweet to poor Lia, isn't he? Just wait, he gets even better. As for Dar, well, she's been through a lot, you'll see more about that later. But maybe eventually you'll like how we've developed her. Her hostility is not merely afterthought, it does have a very real purpose. Glad you're enjoying the fic.

Two, to Lady Damned: Thanks for the review, we enjoy even our criticism here in Angel-ville. On your statement of Vergil being OOC, well, we disagree, respectfully. We think he's being perfectly Vergil, in keeping with how we're creating him as a 'good' character. Besides, it is an A/U, so we think a little change in character is not necessarily an impossible thing. Again, not trying to be bitchy, just responding. cringes Please don't yell at us!

So, yeah, moving on, why aren't you reading the fic yet? Go, read, review!

* * *

Chapter 9 

"Are you sure I can't do anything?"

Adara smiled at Liara's reflection in the mirror. "No, Lia, I'm fine. You go on to see Dante. I am perfectly capable of getting dressed on my own."

Liara grinned at her sister's back. "Well, okay, if you're sure."

"I am. Have fun."

Liara grinned again and impulsively hugged Adara. "Thank you!" she exclaimed happily before pulling away.

"Yeah, yeah," Adara muttered, heat rising into her cheeks. "Get on with you."

Liara let out a delighted laugh at having made her un-flappable sister uncomfortable, but turned to gather her things as Adara had recommended. "So, who's the lucky guy?" she asked as she filtered through her purse.

"His name is Chris. I met him the other night, at the club. Back when I was still upset with you."

"You know, it's actually a pretty good thing you got this date," Liara said with a smirk. "I was beginning to think you weren't interested in men anymore."

Adara blinked in shock, her jaw dropping slightly. "You thought I was…" she stammered, aghast.

Liara burst into giggles at her expression. "Oh, calm down, Dar. It's not like it was a hard conclusion to come to. You haven't had a date in nearly a year. You haven't even looked at a guy since Andre." She flinched as Adara sucked in a breath. "Sorry! Sorry, I forgot. Rule number five: Don't mention the 'A' word."

Adara forced herself to relax and pasted a smile on. "It's okay. Just… try to remember? And, just for your information, I do not have same-sex tendencies. I just don't generally like casual dating. However, I believe I have been celibate long enough, and it is time I rejoined society." With a slight sigh, she smoothed her knee-length, black skirt again and turned to face Liara. "So, how do I look?" she asked, chewing on her lower lip nervously.

"You look fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. But if you don't stop chewing on your lip, your clothes are going to be the least of your problems. Now, I'm leaving. Good luck on your date, don't be too nervous, be careful, and come by Devil when you get done, okay?"

"All right," Adara said, nodding and blowing out a heavy breath, tossing her head and forcing confidence. "It's going to be fine, right?"

"Of course," Liara said, making her way to the door. "Just remember to come see me when you're back." Before Adara could respond, she had slid out the door, closing it behind her.

Left to her own devices, Adara turned around to once again scrutinize her appearance. She unconsciously started biting her lip again, but abruptly stopped and released it when she realized what she was doing. Instead, she ran her hands nervously across her midnight-blue-covered stomach.

"Oh stop it, Adara," she snapped at herself, shaking her head angrily. She turned from her reflection, fastening a slim, silver locket around her neck. She was just slipping into a pair of midnight-blue sling-backs when a knock came on the door.

"I'm coming," she called, hopping toward the door as she tried to get her other shoe on. She managed just as she reached the door and ran her hands across her outfit once more before she swung open the door. "Hi Chris," she greeted with a smile to the man standing on the other side of the door.

"Adara," he replied with a polite nod. "Are you about ready?"

"Yeah, just give me a minute to grab my purse." Adara turned from the door, grabbing her black purse from the nearby table and turning back to her date. "Ready."

"Good. Let's go." Chris moved further into the hallway, allowing space for Adara to pass by.

OoOoOoOoO

The scene inside Devil May Cry wasn't quite normal when Liara arrived, which created the fleeting thought that she must be spending too much time there if she could identify 'normal' scenes. She shook the thought out of her head, focusing on Vergil, who was working at his desk. "Where's Dante?" she asked curiously.

"Hello to you as well, Liara," Vergil said dryly.

Liara blushed faintly at the implied reprimand. "Sorry. Hello Vergil, how are you today? Where's Dante?"

"I am doing fairly well, thank you for asking. Dante's out on a case." A faint smile appeared at the corners of his lips when he looked up to see her confused expression. "We do have other cases, you know."

"I know that," Liara said defensively, glaring at him mildly. "It's just been so quiet recently that… I kind of forgot about it."

Vergil's smile grew marginally larger. "There has been a distinct lack of demon activity anywhere else. However, we got a call this afternoon, and Dante decided to go handle it. Speaking of, where is Adara?"

"Oh, she'll be here later," Liara said dismissively. "She had a date."

Vergil's attention snapped fully to her. "A date? With whom?" he asked in mild alarm.

"Oh, just some guy she met at the club the other night," Liara said absently, sitting down at Dante's desk. She cleared a large space on the top and pulled out her well-worn deck of cards, laying out the beginning structure for a game of solitaire.

"She has a date with someone she barely knows?" he practically growled.

Liara looked at him with a frown. "What are you getting so excited about? It's just a date."

"Who's got a date?"

Liara turned to Dante, who had just walked in the door, with a wide grin. "Dante!" she exclaimed happily, standing and practically skipping over to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey babe," he greeted casually, kissing her briefly. "So, who's got a date?" he asked again, looking at Vergil questioningly.

"Adara," Vergil answered shortly, glaring at the open notebook in front of him.

"The man-hater's got a date!" Dante exclaimed in surprise.

Liara slapped him on the chest and glared at him. "Don't call her that," she snapped.

"Sorry Lia," he said automatically, grimacing after she turned away from him, her countenance happier.

Vergil smirked at his brother's reaction, mildly amused at how easily Liara had wound him around her finger, despite Dante's forceful personality. His amusement was soon drowned out by the idea of Adara having a date, and he returned to glaring at the columns of numbers in front of him, waiting for his attention. He studiously ignored the playful banter being exchanged between his brother and Liara, focusing again on making certain the columns added up.

He was distracted from his task again when Dante leaned heavily on the desk beside him. Vergil glared up at him. "Did you want something?" he asked irritably.

"So, she's got a date, huh?" Dante asked, keeping his tone low enough that Liara couldn't overhear.

Vergil glared back at the invoice in front of him. "Yes, apparently she does," he responded, his tone equally low.

"You okay with that?" Dante's voice held an unusual amount of thinly-veiled concern.

"Does it look like I'm okay with it?" Vergil asked, his voice edged dangerously.

"Okay," Dante said, raising his eyebrows and moving away. "Dropping the subject."

"Good." Vergil said shortly, starting to add the same column of numbers for the third time.

Seeing his brother was determined to close himself off, Dante returned to Liara, who was still playing solitaire at his desk. He watched silently over her shoulder for a minute before he couldn't resist and reached out, moving the ace of diamonds up to the top and flipping over the card beneath it.

"You know," Liara said idly, a few seconds later, after he moved yet another card, "this is supposed to be a solitary game. Hence the name."

"But I play so much better than you do…" Dante murmured as he moved a rather considerable group of cards based on a red queen onto an open black king.

This time, Liara slapped the back of his hand lightly as he retracted it. "Stop it!" she snapped playfully.

"Make me," Dante teased, moving another card.

"Don't push your luck," Liara responded lowly, glaring at the result of his movement. She flipped another group of three cards off the pile in her hand. "See what you did? If you hadn't moved that, we could have had another ace."

"Oh, it's 'we' now? What happened to 'solitaire is a solitary game'?"

Liara turned from her game to glare at him mildly. "Oh… just shut up."

"Make me," Dante said again, seeming to take an immense amount of pleasure in Liara's glare, if his laughter was any indication.

"I thought I told you not to push your luck," she said mildly.

"Yes, but I never agreed," he said, as he snaked his hand past her and moved another card.

"You're becoming very irritating, did you know that?" Liara asked rhetorically.

"Am I?" Dante asked innocently, a devilish grin spreading over his face. "Good, then my evil plan is succeeding."

Liara glared again and opened her mouth to respond, but the door flying open interrupted her before she could, as Adara came striding in, her eyes fairly snapping with anger. Her hair was escaping from its up-do and she pushed the door shut behind her with an exasperated yell.

"Ugh," she exclaimed angrily, "Men!" She shook her head irritably, pushing a stray curl out of her eyes with a frustrated motion.

Liara frowned at her from her seat, her hand still latched on Dante's wrist where she had grabbed it to stop him from moving another card. "What's wrong, Dar? What happened?"

"Men are pigs!" she exclaimed, throwing herself down on the sofa, as though that were all the explanation needed.

Liara and Dante exchanged a surprised glance before Liara pushed herself up from the desk and made her way over to her sister. "What happened?"

"He… ugh, I don't even want to talk about it. But rest assured, I won't be going out with another man for at _least_ a decade."

"Whoa, that bad, huh?" Liara said understandingly.

"Yeah, that bad," Adara responded, meeting her sister's eyes and nodding slightly.

"Well, perhaps that will make you think twice next time you decide to do something so foolish as to go out alone with someone you hardly know," Vergil said sharply, without looking up from his ledger.

"What did you say?" Adara asked, her words dangerously precise.

"I believe you heard me," Vergil responded, looking up at her.

Adara's venomous glare would have quailed a lesser man, but Vergil met her eyes unflinchingly. "And when, exactly, did you decide you were qualified to make this decision?"

"It's a logical thought," Vergil said mildly, not looking away from her. "While you and your sister are being hunted, it is perhaps not a good idea to be going out with men you have just met."

Adara's jaw dropped slightly, aghast at his presumption. "You…" she started, but her words dissolved before they could pass her lips, so great was her fury. She tried again. "I… I can't believe you! You… how dare you pass judgment on how I choose to live my life?" Her tone became darker, her fury more concentrated. "I have only one thing to say to you, Vergil. You are not my father, you are not my lover, or my boyfriend. Hell, you're barely even my friend! So don't presume to judge who I decide to date! You would be wise to keep your opinions to yourself." She turned her attention from the infuriating man to Liara. "I'll see you at home."

With that, she flung herself off the couch, gathering her purse as she went, and stalked out, the door swinging shut behind her.

Dante and Liara stared at Vergil as he stared at the door. "What just happened here?" he asked, the words directed to no one.

OoOoOoOoO

Adara stalked down the street angrily, muttering curses under her breath, most directed at Vergil. "Stupid man…" She rolled her eyes and readjusted her purse-strap, shifting it higher on her shoulder.

A sudden crash and clatter from a nearby alley shocked her and she stopped dead, her back snapping straight. A low growl started and her eyes grew wide at the familiar sound. She broke into a run back the way she came, cursing her heels that made it difficult to gain speed. Despite that, she practically flew down the sidewalk, fear motivating her to push herself harder.

The growling grew marginally louder, and she cast a desperate glance over her shoulder at the pack of demons chasing after her. They were gaining ground, and she turned forward, pushing her legs even more, trying desperately to reach the offices of Devil May Cry before they reached her.

Suddenly, she found herself thrown to the broken sidewalk, her hands automatically flying forward to break her fall. She grunted in pain as the shock of impact reverberated up her arms. Her knees scraped on the concrete, but she crawled forward, trying to regain her footing. She managed to regain her feet, but precious seconds were lost in the attempt. She ignored the stinging pain in her hands and knees as she started running again. She could feel the shocking slide of warm blood down her shins as she went, but that was likewise ignored.

Her fall, however, had given the demons time to catch up, and she soon found herself surrounded. She nearly tore her purse open, frantically digging through it in search of the dagger she kept in there, the only defense she would have, paltry as it was. Her fingers closed around the hilt and she tore it out triumphantly, the sheath flying from the blade to land a few feet from her. Her purse fell from her hands, smacking the pavement at her feet. She kicked off her shoes hastily and spread her feet, turning in a careful circle, evaluating her opponents.

Adara cringed at the sheer volume of demons that surrounded her. There was no way she was getting out of this one. She took a deep breath and let it out, calming herself as Master Tierce had trained her. She swallowed the lump that had grown rapidly in her throat, ridding her mind of her self-defeatist thoughts. Her shoulders squared confidently and she prepared herself for battle. If she was going down, the least she could do was take some of them with her.

The fight began suddenly, as most usually do. One of the demons grew impatient and leapt for her, aiming his claws at her back.

Adara spun to face him and thrust her dagger through the center of his neck, pulling the hilt violently toward her so the tip erupted out the side of his neck with a spurt of blood. She yanked the blade out as the demon fell to the ground.

The death seemed to signal the beginning of the fight, and suddenly Adara found herself swarmed. She fought back ferociously, using her dagger as well as simple hand-to-hand techniques to incapacitate demons all around her, trying to keep herself from going down.

Her stocking feet slipped in the rapidly growing pool of blood surrounding her and she swayed dangerously. A demon took advantage of her weakness to hit her, his claws raking across her back. She screamed in pain and shock, but managed to keep her balance and plunge her dagger through its eye, killing it instantly. The white substance that spurted out of the hole and landed on her cheek had the consistency of cottage-cheese, and Adara nearly gagged, but swallowed her bile, turning to kill another demon.

Her muscles began to burn with exertion three kills later, as she used her hands to boost herself up with the shoulders of a falling demon, kicking out with her feet and throwing two nearby demons out of the circle. The minute her feet touched the ground, she had an instant to reflect that perhaps jumping into the air hadn't been the greatest idea before they slid in the brackish pool of blood, throwing her to the side as she fell. The impact jarred her even as her arm twisted under her side, the pressure growing until, with a sickening snap, the bone gave out. Adara screamed louder as the pinkish-white shard pierced through her muscle and skin. The demons took advantage of her position, swarming over her, ripping at her flesh with their claws.

Adara didn't know how long she screamed. She could barely feel the tracks of the tears that were flowing down her face at the immense pain, but when she felt the pain disappearing into a fog, she sent up a silent prayer of thanks to the God she thought she didn't believe in anymore. Her vision glazed over, her senses dulled, but she was still conscious enough to feel when a large weight was unceremoniously hauled off her.

OoOoOoOoO

Vergil had been sitting at his desk when the first faint scream reached his ears. His head perked up, his eyes going to the door. He glanced over at where Dante and Liara sat on the couch, arguing playfully over something. They had shown no indication of hearing it, so he shook his head and went back to his work, telling himself he was imagining things.

When he heard a second scream a minute later, he knew he wasn't imagining things. He grabbed his sword and ran for the door, leaving Dante and Liara looking after him in puzzlement for a moment before they followed.

The screaming grew steadily louder as he ran, the metallic tang of blood filling his nostrils. He turned a corner and his eyes widened at the sight that met him. The enormous swarm of demons was obviously crowding around something, the source of the screaming, and he threw himself into the fight, his sword a blur as he cut down demons left and right. As he fought his way toward the center, the screams were gradually fading. He grew more anxious, fighting more fiercely to reach the clump of demons swarming in the middle.

He threw demons from the pile as soon as he reached it, digging through them, trying to reach the victim underneath them. The dying cries of the demons from behind him alerted him to the arrival of Dante and Liara, but he didn't pay them any mind, other than to direct his throws in their direction.

The figure curled into a ball on the blood-stained street when he got through the pile of demons was hardly recognizable as human, torn apart as it was. But the pile of dark curls and the glimpses of pale skin that were visible through the blood made Vergil's eyes grow wide, and he hastily sheathed his sword, trusting Dante and Liara to take care of the demons as he knelt, pulling Adara's broken form into his arms. By now, the demons were all but defeated, and he moved a few feet away before kneeling down amidst the corpses lain out like wind-flattened wheat. He rested her battered body on his knees, holding her in place with one arm while his other hand gently stroked her hair away from her face, his thumb tenderly wiping blood from one of her cheeks.

Her eyes opened slightly and she looked up at him blearily. "Verg…" she murmured weakly, trying to focus on his face.

"Be silent," he ordered, his voice filled with a false calm. "You're bleeding."

"Okay," she sighed softly in acceptance, her eyes drifting shut again. Before she completely succumbed to unconsciousness, her eyes fluttered open again and she sighed, "You know, your eyes are like snowflakes."

Before Vergil could respond, her eyes slid shut and her body went limp. He groped desperately for her as her weight fell completely on him. His hands slid on her skin, made slick with blood, both hers and others, but he managed to keep hold of her. He moved his arms again under her and stood, beginning to make his way down the street toward the office again.

Dante and Liara caught up with him quickly. "Who's that?" Dante asked rapidly.

"Adara," Vergil answered shortly, not pausing. "If you would be good enough to gather her things? I'm certain she will be looking for them when she wakes."

Liara followed closely as he went, running ahead to hold the door open when they neared Devil May Cry. Vergil carried her through the back door, taking the first right once in the short hallway that held the doors to his and Dante's private rooms.

Vergil gently laid Adara down on his bed, making certain none of her limbs were caught beneath her, before looking at Liara. "Stay with her. I'll be back in a moment." Without waiting for her affirmative response, Vergil stood and walked out the door.

Liara moved to stand at the end of the bed, raising her fist to her mouth and chewing on her index finger nervously as she looked at the barely-recognizable face of her sister. Her head turned toward the door when it opened, but it was only Dante, carrying a pair of shoes, a purse, and Adara's favorite short dagger.

Vergil entered close on his heels, a large bowl of steaming water in one arm, a cardboard box in the other.

"Thank you, Dante. Just put them on that table," he said, pointing to a small table across the room with his chin. He set the bowl of water carefully on his nightstand, placing the box on the chair beside it. He perched on the edge of the bed and reached into the box, pulling out a cloth, which he dipped into the water. Carefully, he began wiping the blood off Adara's broken arm. Once it was clean, he glanced back at the two waiting occupants. "Dante," he said with a meaningful look at his younger brother.

"Right," Dante said after a moment, placing his hand on Liara's arm. "Come on; let's go start heating some more water, in case Vergil needs it."

"But…" Liara started, clearly not wanting to leave.

"Come on," Dante said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her firmly out of the room.

Once the door closed behind them, Vergil turned back to Adara. "This is going to hurt," he informed the unconscious girl, "but it has to be done." With a careful pull and a precise twist, he managed to get her bone back into her skin and set it in place. He grimaced in sympathy, even though, in her unconscious state, Adara hadn't felt anything. He quickly pressed a clean cloth to the wound, applying gentle pressure to stay the bleeding. When it started to slow, he gingerly began to wrap her arm tightly to hold it in place while he tended to her other injuries.

Most of her other injuries were less serious, but a few of them required stitching, which he did quickly, using small stitches so the scar would be smaller. Once he finished cleaning off her front, he lifted her and easily flipped her onto her back, cleaning those wounds as well.

By the time Dante and Liara returned, he had gotten her wounds cleaned and bandaged, and had changed her into a spare pair of shorts and an old t-shirt. His first-aid supplies were replaced in their box, with the exception of a few bandages and some disinfectant, which he planned to keep handy in case they were needed.

Liara cringed at the water in the bowl, which was tinted a vibrant red.

Vergil looked up at her blandly, before turning his attention back to Dante. "I'm going to need plaster."

Dante nodded and picked up the bowl to take out to clean. Liara followed him with the box.

The pair returned a few minutes later with a new bowl, this one filled with wet, white plaster.

Vergil carefully smoothed the plaster over the bandage he had applied to Adara's arm. The thick layer would take a while to dry, so once it was applied, he placed a block under her wrist to keep it elevated from the bed while she slept.

"Do you need anything?" Dante asked, his voice low.

"No, thank you," Vergil responded, moving to sit in the chair beside the bed.

"All right. We'll be nearby, if she wakes up."

Vergil nodded silently, not taking his eyes off Adara.

Dante started moving toward the door, taking gentle hold of Liara's arm and guiding her along in front of him.

Liara couldn't resist one last look, peering over Dante's arm as unobtrusively as possible as he gently shut the door. The sight that met her eyes, she was convinced, would stay with her forever, simply for the utter devastation of the scene. The paleness of Adara's features, covered as they were in bandages, the hopelessness in Vergil's posture, slumped forward with his forehead resting on clasped hands, his eyes closed as he held a silent vigil for the unconscious woman in the bed… Liara shook her head violently to dislodge the resulting melancholy of her selfish indulgence and inappropriate observation of such a private moment.

Luckily, Dante was there to distract her. His warm hand on her elbow threw off all remnants of the image, bringing her mind back to the present, as he led her down the darkened hallway. He opened a door she had never seen before and ushered her through.

Liara looked around at her surroundings in mild confusion, before turning to look at Dante, who was standing just inside the doorway. "Dante?" she asked with a slight frown. "What's going on?"

His voice was gruff when he answered. "It's late. Too late for you to be walking home. Besides, it's easier for you to be here when your sister wakes up."

Liara felt a small smile pulling at the corner of her lips at the veiled concern behind his words. "Dante…" she started in a slightly teasing voice, "are you worried about me?"

Dante snapped his eyes to hers from their previous position, fixed on the ground, and glared slightly. "No," he stated quickly, the vehemence of his denial belied by the slight pink tint rising in his cheeks.

Liara decided to spare his ego and tactfully ignored the blush, turning her attention instead to the large, queen-sized bed that was the focal point of the room. She moved to sit on the end of it, bouncing slightly before turning again to Dante. "It's nice, thanks. But if I take your bed, where will you sleep?"

The sharpening of his eyes told her she had guessed right, that this was his room. His surprise at her question lasted only a moment before it was replaced by a more lascivious expression. "Well, if you're that worried about it, we could always share," he drawled, his tone laden with innuendo.

Liara raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Uh-huh," she said dryly, crossing her arms across her chest and gazing at him steadily. "And let me ask you, Casanova, what, in our short history together, has led you to the belief that I would sleep with you before we even have a first date?"

"Hey," Dante said innocently. "Would I take advantage of you like that? Come on, you can trust me."

"Oh yeah, you're a regular saint," she said sarcastically. "But no. I don't think so, mister. You're riding high with Mr. Lumpy tonight." At Dante's confused expression, she explained. "The couch. You're sleeping on the couch."

Dante's expression turned mutinous, and he opened his mouth to protest, but Liara raised her other eyebrow and looked at him as if daring him to object, and the words died in his throat. Instead, he huffed and grabbed one of the pillows off the bed and a blanket off a chair, pouting toward the door. "Fine," he muttered under his breath. "Geez, we're not even married yet, and already I'm sleeping on the couch," he said sulkily as he closed the door behind him, leaving an open-mouthed Liara staring at the wood in utter shock.

Her mouth worked silently as she attempted to process that comment, but the only word that came to her mind, she spoke into the empty room. "Yet?"

OoOoOoOoO

Dante grumbled all the way out to the main office, through locking the front door carefully, through pushing the stack of papers off the sofa cushion, and didn't stop until he had tossed the pillow onto one end and kicked off his boots, pulling off his shirt and flopping down gracelessly, snapping the blanket open and draping it carelessly over himself.

After a moment of stillness, he suddenly flipped over, tugging the blanket tighter to his shoulders. A few seconds later, he turned again. For several minutes, he tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position on the couch. It was aptly named, he thought idly, as yet another hard lump managed to find its way to his lower back. His tossing and turning achieved nothing more than to get the blanket inexorably twisted around his legs, trapping him within it. He struggled for a moment to free himself, settling the blanket over himself comfortably again once he did.

Finally, he found a position that was less-uncomfortable than the previous ones, and settled down to sleep.

He was just drifting off, when he suddenly shot straight up, the blanket falling from his shoulders to pile in his lap.

"Yet!"


	11. Chapter Ten

A/N of Luna and Sol: Hello all our loyal, loyal readers! we love you all for reading our fics!

Luna: okay? on crack much Sol?

Sol: shut up. I just want them to know we actually hang out!

Luna: Yeah, but does it have to involve so many damn exclamation points?

Sol: Yes. Now shush and help me with chapter 14.

Luna: fine. if you insist.

Disclaimer: we still dont own Capcom or Devil May Cry but we are working on it. (and if we have to say this for the next oh, 60 chapters we will cry! '(! )

OoOoOoOoO

Chapter 10

Liara slowly opened her eyes. She looked around the room from her position, curled up on her side, before she turned onto her stomach, burying her head in the silky, crimson-covered, goose-down pillow and breathing deeply as she stretched. Dante's smell filled her nose, a pleasant mixture of leather and sun. She liked that smell a lot, for some reason.

She smiled as she slowly pushed herself up to sit on her knees. She stretched out her arms and yawned widely, eyes closing involuntarily as her jaw popped in an early-morning pressure release. Behind her a voice spoke up. "Mornin' babe," Dante greeted.

Liara head snapped to the doorway. When she saw him leaning against the door jam, smirking slightly, her arms crossed and she narrowed her eyes at him. "How long have you been there?" she asked.

"A while," he replied, a smile spreading across his lips.

She couldn't help but smile also, despite her efforts to suppress it. She slid out of the bed and walked over to him, leaning up on her tiptoes to give him a small kiss on the lips. She pulled away with a coquettish smile and walked down the hall to Vergil's bedroom door. She lightly tapped on it before opening the door wide enough to stick her head in.

Vergil looked up when the door opened. Liara's eyes creased worriedly when the light hit his face. He didn't look particularly healthy. His face was drawn and deep shadows encircled his eyes, but he hid all other signs of his fatigue well. "How's Dar?" Liara asked softly, opening the door a bit more and stepping slightly into the room.

"She has some color back," he replied in a slightly detached tone.

Liara looked at her sister and smiled a bit, seeing some pink returning to her otherwise pale skin. She looked at Vergil and again noted his tired appearance. "Maybe you should get some sleep," she said gently. "I can stay here if you want," she offered.

"I'm fine," he answered quickly, shaking his head adamantly.

"Okay…"

Vergil turned away from her, looking back at Adara's sleeping form. Liara watched him for a moment then left the room, shutting the door behind her quietly. She walked down the hall and out into the office, coming to a stop in the middle of the room. She looked over at Dante, who was sitting at the desk playing solitaire.

"How is she?" he asked, looking up at her.

"Better. She has some color back in her skin," she replied, walking over to the desk and sitting on the edge of it.

"Well, that's good."

"Yeah… I thought she was going to…" Liara trailed off and looked at the window in the front of the office.

She tried her best to stop her tears from coming, but they welled up in her eyes anyway. She blinked rapidly, determined not to cry again. For all her efforts, a tear managed to escape, running down her cheek. She hastily wiped it away, trying not to show weakness. She knew from the other day that Dante was uncomfortable when she cried.

Dante saw her wipe her face and frowned. "Don't worry; I'm sure she is tough to kill. You two are half-angel after all," he stated with a rare, gentle smile.

She huffed and smiled a bit. "Yeah I guess. We do heal fast but I heard demons heal quicker. Damn lucky demons. I guess that's why I hate them. They always manage to live through anything," she remarked.

Dante raised an eyebrow at her_. "They must've not figured out Verg and I are half-demons,"_ he thought, and quickly decided not to mention it. _"She said she hated demons, maybe it was best she didn't know,"_ he concluded.

"What can you do huh?" she asked rhetorically, turning to him with a fake smile that barely concealed her worry for her sister.

OoOoOoOoO

Vergil stared blankly at the opposite wall, worry and fatigue in his eyes. His hair had fallen from its spiked-back look into a matted mess against his head. He sighed and ran his hand through the snarled locks again, fidgeting impatiently. He inwardly berated himself for not reacting sooner, for not going out to see what was wrong when he heard the first scream.

A hand dropped to his shoulder, bringing him out of his self-recriminations. He looked up at his brother.

"How is she?" Dante asked gently, looking at Adara.

"Not so good," Vergil replied. "I let Liara believe she was getting better, but…" he trailed off, shaking his head sadly.

"Here," Dante said, holding out a mug toward Vergil. "Coffee. I know you prefer tea," he said to Vergil's questioning glance, "but since you refuse to sleep, I thought this would help you stay awake.

"Thanks," Vergil murmured, taking the cup from his brother's hand. He sighed softly in pleasure as the hot liquid ran down his throat.

The two were silent for a long minute, both staring at the woman in the bed.

"How are you doing?" Dante asked finally without turning. Vergil opened his mouth to answer, but Dante interrupted him. "And don't tell me you're fine. Liara might have bought that, but I'm not going to. How are you really doing?"

"I'm… I don't know," Vergil finally answered. "I'm not the one unconscious, so I suppose, relatively, I'm perfectly fine. Honestly… I don't know. I'm not sure that I'll know until she wakes up."

Dante nodded in acceptance of his brother's answer. "I think I get it."

Vergil looked up at him briefly, before turning back to Adara.

There was another moment of silence, before Vergil held the empty cup up to Dante. "Thank you for the coffee."

Dante just took the cup and nodded, turning and leaving the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

Vergil sighed again, gazing absently across the room. He shook his head irritably and turned his attention downward, focusing his eyes on the floor. He blinked rapidly, trying to stay awake. Still, after a few minutes, his eyes slowly drifted shut against his will. His head sank toward his chest, his forearms rested on his thighs as he slipped into much-needed sleep.

Adara slowly opened her eyes as Vergil's drifted shut. She stared at the ceiling in a bit of a daze as she attempted to figure out where she was. She winced as she felt a sharp pain in her right arm. Lifting it, she saw it was wrapped in plaster, which made her frown in confusion. Very slowly, she pushed herself up, sitting against the headboard of the bed she was in and grimacing in pain.

Adara looked down at the shirt she wore, her eyes widening as she realized it obviously wasn't hers. It was too big. She looked around the room, frowning when she didn't recognize it. A noise on her right drew her attention and she snapped her head to the side, her eyes widening further when she saw a silver-haired man she didn't recognize wearing a tight-fitted black tank-top and sweatpants sitting beside her. She let out a scream, trying to scramble away. The abrupt scream and movement snapped Vergil out of his sleep.

His head moved up groggily and he turned toward Adara. Seeing she was awake his eyes widened in relief, but seeing her movement caused a concerned frown to settle on his face. "Calm down. You will reopen some of your stitches," he soothed.

"Wha- How did I get here!" she asked in a panic. "And who or what are these clothes!" she finished.

"I brought you here. And those are my old clothes," he informed her calmly.

Liara burst in the door and looked around. "What happened!" she asked in alarm. Dante stood behind her quietly.

Her eyes lit on her sister and she smiled widely as she fully registered the scene in front of her. "Dar! You're okay!" she exclaimed.

Liara trotted over to the edge of the bed and gently hugged her sister. Adara grimaced a bit but gave a small smile and hugged back. "I'm a little hungry. Can we get something to eat?" she asked.

Liara nodded and helped her sister lay back. "Wait here, I'll be back bearing sustenance." Her twin leaned against the pillows and nodded. She grinned happily and raised a single finger. "One minute. I'll be right back." She practically skipped out of the room, Dante and Vergil exiting after her.

The ebony-haired girl disappeared down the side hall that led to a small kitchen and reappeared about ten minutes later with a plate of eggs she had made.

Dante and Vergil stood just outside the door to the main room in a slight stupor as they watched Liara run to the kitchen and back, happier than they ever seen her.

"I guess she's happy her sister is okay," Vergil stated as his eyes followed the younger girl to the kitchen.

"Yeah… Kinda scary," Dante replied.

"She is your girlfriend," Vergil quipped, walking back down the hall to his room.

Dante just looked at Vergil as he disappeared into the back.

Liara trotted happily over to her sister and set the plate on her lap and handed her a fork. She sat on the edge of the bed and stared at Adara as she slowly ate the food.

OoOoOoOoO

Outside 'Devil May Cry' a shadowy figure loomed in an alley across the street. Its brightly-glowing orange eyes peered into the office window as it observed the three as they went about their day.

It had seen the half-demon carry Adara into his office the previous day. Its eyes narrowed in anger at the positive energy flowing through the office. The mahogany-haired girl had clearly lived through the attack. This angered him greatly.

His eyes followed the younger half-angel as she disappeared into the kitchen. He strained against his orders, desperately wanting to go in there and finish the two off. His eyes narrowed when he noticed Dante and Vergil. The sons of Sparda were protecting the two girls, he thought. The Master would not be pleased.

As he watched Liara exit the room with a plate and a fork, the shadowy figure sunk further into the shadows.

This would be very important information to the Master. He had to know that the half-breeds were being watched over by the Legendary Dark Knight's own two sons. But he also knew that the news of the failure of the attack on the older half-breed would greatly anger his Master, and cringed at the thought of delivering that particular news.


	12. Chapter Eleven

Clean Hatred

Disclaimer: In recent months, I still haven't managed to gain the rights to the Devil May Cry empire. I still wanna own Vergil, but, hey, not happening anytime soon. So please, don't sue me. I'm just a poor college student. I don't even have a job!

Author's Note from Luna Angel: Okay, many apologies go out to everyone who's been waiting for this update for forever. Here's the sitch: I'm taking a full-load of classes at college. Consequently, my brain's pretty occupied, as well as my time. Given that Sol's taking classes as well, we'll try to get updates out, but it might not be on a nice, weekly schedule like it was for a while. To tell you the truth, the reason I haven't updated is simply because I pretty much forgot this story existed, and for that, again, many apologies. I have no excuse, so I won't lie to you and say that something happened that prevented me from physically being able to update. Suffice to say, other things were occupying my mind, and it simply never occurred to me to update this fic. Again, I'll apologize (especially to you, Goddess. We weren't actually ignoring you, just... well, being ditzes). We are not abandoning this fic, however, rest assured. It will continue. The updates may be sporadic though, so if a block of time passes without an update again, just review and yell at us, and we should get another update out ASAP. Anyway, moving on, I'm sorry, and enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 11

Adara yawned widely and made a soft, mewling sound of protest as she drifted back into consciousness. She sleepily raised her right arm to rub at her eyes and let out a quiet yelp when the make-shift cast bonked her forehead, bringing her fully awake. With a disgruntled groan, she used her other hand to rub the small bump that was growing on her head. "Great," she muttered unhappily. "Another bruise to add to my already-colorful collection. This is so not my week…" she trailed off into an inarticulate groan.

"It's good to see you awake," a soft voice murmured from her right. Adara yelped in surprise and turned, relaxing again when she saw Vergil. "Your sister was worried about you."

Adara blinked at him in confusion for a moment before her expression cleared. "Oh, right. The fight," she said blankly. "Liara. Where is she, anyway?"

A small frown creased his forehead, his eyes going back to his book. "Out in the office with Dante."

Adara frowned, ducking her head away from him. Her voice was small when she finally spoke, "Oh…"

Vergil's head came up at her tone and he looked at her in concern. "Are you all right? Do you want me to get her?" he asked, moving to stand.

"No!" she exclaimed hastily, her head snapping toward him. When he turned his head to look at her, she blushed and turned away. "No, thank you," she continued, quieter. "Just… can you ask her to bring me something?"

"Of course," Vergil responded. "Whatever you wish."

"There's a black bag under the catch-all in our front hall. Can you have her bring it to me?"

"Anything else?"

"Yeah… maybe a change of clothes? No offense, it's just your clothes… well, they aren't mine."

"I understand," Vergil said, nodding slightly. "I will go ask her now." Without further pleasantries, he turned and left the room, the door falling shut behind him.

"Well, good-bye to you, too," Adara muttered under her breath, scooting backward to sit against the headboard. She closed her eyes and muttered a prayer under her breath, sending it to whoever might be listening. "_Please_ don't let her look in the bag…"

OoOoOoOoO

It was a nod to how much things had changed that Vergil wasn't in the least bit surprised upon entering the office to find Liara and Dante sitting together on the sofa, Liara held loosely within Dante's arms. They were arguing spiritedly about the best place to order pizza from, but their conversation abruptly stopped when they noticed him standing there.

Liara immediately pulled away from Dante, jumping to her feet. She fired off questions in rapid succession, her voice laden with emotion. "How is she, is she all right? What did she say? Did she ask to see me? Is she in pain? Does she want something to eat? Is she thirsty? Well, why aren't you answering me!"

"Babe, calm down, let him get a word in," Dante said patiently, laying a hand on Liara's arm. When Liara flicked her gaze at him and then looked at Vergil contritely, Dante looked at his brother. "Well?" he asked, the one word filled with inquiry.

"She is fine," Vergil said calmly. "She has requested that Liara return to their apartment and retrieve a black bag from under the table in your front hall, and a change of clothes for her."

"Is that it?" Liara asked, her expression falling in mild depression.

"That was all she requested."

"Oh. Okay," Liara replied quietly, her voice almost an exact replica of Adara's earlier small, sad tone. "I'll just go get that for her then." Liara turned and headed toward the door, her head lowered dejectedly.

Dante's attention passed back-and-forth between the sad woman and his brother, before he trotted after Liara. "I'll come with you. Just in case the demons come back."

The door closed with a soft click. Vergil sank desperately onto the sofa. His head dropped morosely into his hands.

OoOoOoOoO

Adara didn't bother looking up when the door opened, keeping her head buried in her arms. The rapidly-drying tear-tracks on her cheeks caused an all-too-familiar pulling sensation as the inherent salt content created a semi-glue on the surface of her skin. For the brief moment the door was open, she could hear the slightly-echoed conversation from the office, her sister and Dante speaking in comfortable tones, though she couldn't discern any of the words.

Vergil closed the door softly behind him, shifting the stack of clothing into his left hand, to rest on top of the bag. He frowned at Adara, a wave of intense concern washing through him at the vulnerability of her pose. As he moved cautiously toward the bed, he schooled his expression into a careful mask of semi-blankness, hiding from her any particular regard, knowing from experience that any advances, even just his concern, would be unwelcome.

"Your sister has returned," he said softly when he reached the bedside.

Adara jerked up like a marionette on a string, her head snapping toward him. Her eyes were wide with surprise upon finding him so close, and she shrank back marginally into the wall. The flash of hurt that passed across Vergil's face before he was able to slap up the mask again was accompanied by an odd twisting in her stomach. The feeling confused her immensely, but she rapidly brushed it off to say, "Was she able to find everything?"

Vergil nodded wordlessly, placing the clothes on the end of the bed, dropping the bag beside it. "I'll wait outside while you change. If you need anything, just yell." He turned without further comment and went back the way he came. Outside, once the door was closed, he leaned back against the wall and let out a low sigh.

As soon as the door had closed behind Vergil, Adara slid sideways on the mattress, turning to let her feet hang over the edge. She gingerly pushed herself up, nearly collapsing to the floor before she managed to catch herself on the table beside her. She held herself up for a few minutes while she waited for the stinging pain to evaporate from her legs so she could stand.

When feeling returned to her muscles, she slowly let go of the edge of the table. She wavered for a moment, but then stood strong and took a tentative step toward her clothes. It took a long minute before she managed to reach them, barely lifting her feet from the floor, more shuffling than walking. She cursed colorfully under her breath when she saw the clothes that were folded there, but shrugged in mild acceptance, knowing she had no alternatives, other than the clothes she had on.

Adara carefully grasped the bottom edge of the shirt she was wearing and began slowly pulling it upward, letting out a small gasp as the stitches in her back pulled slightly with her movement. Tears welled up, but she refused to let them fall as she yanked the shirt the final few inches and over her head, letting it go as soon as it was off, paying little attention as it pooled on the floor.

The boxers were more easily removed, needing very little beyond the slight initial push to get them over her hips, from where gravity took over, the garment sliding down her legs. She stepped out of them and cringed as she took in the myriad of bandages covering her skin.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she began pulling at one of the bandages on her left arm, picking at the tape holding it on until one edge was free. She lifted the gauze carefully from her skin, wincing at the angry red color of the stitched wound beneath, contrasting strongly with the paleness of the surrounding skin.

The initial shock over, she started pulling off her other bandages, covering those which were still healing, pulling the covers off those that were merely scars. Relatively few of them had stitches, but the glaring black of the thread struck a discordant note in her mind so that those few bothered her more than the total of her other injuries.

As she picked the last bit of tape off her chest, she sighed wearily at the raised, discolored scar that crossed the swell of her breast. That one wasn't going away, and no amount of make-up in the world would cover it.

Disgusted with herself for her thoughts, she pulled the black, ribbed tank-top Liara had brought over her head, tugging the hem down to get the shirt settled. She leaned forward to slip her legs into the pair of black, satin lounge pants, pulling them as far up as she could before she stood to get them over her hips. With that completed, she sat back onto the bed, pushing herself back into her position against the headboard. Resettled into her place, she felt comfortable enough to call for Vergil.

Vergil opened the door and leaned against the door-jam, looking in at her. "Do you want me to get your sister now?" he asked blandly, already turning to do just that.

"No!" Adara called before he could leave.

Vergil turned in surprise to look at her. "What?" he asked. "But now that you're changed, surely you want to see her."

"Actually, I'd really rather not," Adara said, wincing slightly as she imagined Liara's reaction to that news. "She doesn't need to see me like this."

Vergil stared at her for a moment, then nodded in wordless understanding. "Very well. I will go inform her of your decision."

OoOoOoOoO

When Vergil emerged from the hallway into the office, Dante and Liara looked up simultaneously, their hands freezing in midair. A smile tugged at the corner of Vergil's lips at the ridiculous picture they made, each holding on to one end of a couch cushion, apparently having been engaged in a rousing game of tug-of-war with it. Dante dropped it belatedly, brushing a stray lock of hair off his forehead in a futile attempt to appear nonchalant.

Liara looked at Vergil expectantly, her eager gaze sending irrational pangs of guilt surging through him. He broke the look hastily, turning his head away from the pair of them. A slow heat built in his face and he had to clear his throat before he could trust himself to speak. "Adara…" He paused to clear his throat again. "Adara has… requested… that, for the time being, she be left to heal. Alone."

Liara leapt to her feet, the cushion dropping from her hand to land with a thump on the floor. Her face was a confused mass of emotions, ranging from simple confusion to outright fury. "What!" she exclaimed angrily, glaring at Vergil as though it were his fault. "What do you mean she wants to be left alone? Don't tell me she won't even let me see her!"

Vergil closed his eyes and struggled to speak against the pressure building in his throat. "She asked that you not come see her, at least for the moment. Perhaps in a week or so-"

"A _week_? You expect me to just sit here for a week waiting to see if my sister will _consent_ to my _presence_? Are you insane?"

"I'm sorry," Vergil said quietly before turning and leaving the room.

OoOoOoOoO

Several days passed in relative quiet while Adara healed, still refusing to see anyone with the exception of Vergil, who took on the task of shuffling messages between her and Liara. Meanwhile, Liara and Dante were going through the list of card games they knew, alphabetically. They were up through 'S', enjoying rousing rounds of Slapjack. They seemed to have stalled there, having been playing for a day and a half on the floor of the office.

Adara studiously ignored the shrieks and faint thumps from the office, shifting her notepad to the side to study the thick book that rested on her lap. She winced and flexed her calf subtly, attempting to alleviate the numbness that was beginning to grow in the limb from her cross-legged position without interrupting her reading. Her eyes flickered over the text rapidly and her lips quirked in triumph when she located the passage she had been searching for. She replaced her notepad on top of the book and quickly scribbled down another few sentences.

Vergil looked up from his own reading to ponder the woman seated across the room from him, curled up in his favorite armchair, while he was relegated to a fairly-uncomfortable wooden one. His frown deepened as she shifted her focus to her book again, and he placed a marker between the pages of his novel before letting it drop to his lap. "What are you doing?" he asked idly, tilting his head slightly to the side.

Adara didn't acknowledge him for a moment, and when she finally did look up, it was with an expression of confusion. "Huh?" she asked blankly.

Vergil smirked at the clear indication of her inattention, and repeated his question.

"Oh, not much," Adara responded with a too-bright smile.

Vergil raised an amused eyebrow at her obvious lie. "Is that right," he murmured lowly. Adara blushed deeply at his implication, causing an actual smile to bloom on Vergil's face. "What are you really doing?"

"It…" Adara started, trailing off. Her blush increased in intensity, spreading to encompass her entire face. It started inching its way down her neck as she struggled to formulate a coherent sentence. "I…"

"Come now, surely it can't be that bad, can it? Is it really something you feel you need to hide from me?" he asked with a winsome grin.

Adara blushed still brighter when the effects of the smile hit her, ducking her head away in an attempt to hide how very much it affected her. She cleared her throat quietly, trying desperately to compose herself before speaking. Her words, when she managed them, were still somewhat ragged, her voice slightly shaky as she responded, "I, uh…" She cleared her throat again, louder, and looked up at him. "You have to promise not to tell anyone, not Dante, not Liara, no one," she said earnestly.

"I promise," Vergil said solemnly, his smile lessening in intensity, but not leaving him entirely.

"It's a paper for my Social Psychology class."

Vergil's face registered his surprise at the statement, his eyes widening in astonishment. "You're going to school?" he exclaimed loudly.

"Shhh!" Adara hissed urgently. "Not so loud!"

"Why? It's not a bad thing, is it?" Vergil asked in confusion.

"Of course not, but Lia doesn't know, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"How could she not know?"

"I've always handled the funds in our little family. And I didn't want her to know, because we never discussed it. It's not a bad thing, I just… I don't want her to know that I'd rather not dance for a living, you know?"

Vergil nodded and the two sat in silence once more, Adara going back to her book, Vergil just watching her work. "So, how do you manage it?" he asked after a few minutes.

"What?" Adara asked, looking up with a frown.

"How do you get to class without Liara knowing?" he clarified.

"Oh. I 'get a gig'," she said with a breathy laugh. "It's a good enough excuse, and she hasn't questioned it yet."

"So the other day, when you came in…" Vergil questioned.

"Yeah, I was supposed to have class. It was cancelled; apparently the professor was attacked by a demon. Damn, we need to figure out what the hell is going on. The demons are becoming way too active," Adara cursed under her breath.

Vergil hummed noncommittally, picking his book back up and reopening it to the marked place, resuming his reading. Adara similarly went back to her own work, and a comfortable silence once again reigned supreme in the room.


End file.
